Link's Awakening
by Liquid
Summary: Tired of living in the shadow of his father's heroic deeds, Link Junior takes to the seas, seeking his own adventures. But he will get much more than he bargained for after a terrible storm sinks his boat, washing him up onto the shores of beautiful Koholint Island. But this tropical paradise is not what it seems, and there may be no way out.
1. Chapter 1 Memories of My Youth

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter One: Memories of My Youth**

_My name is Link, er… well technically its Link Junior, because I was named after my father, and I've decided to start a diary… is that right, a diary? Or are those for girls? I don't know, a diary, a journal, whatever… I just want to get all this written down before I forget, because the whole ordeal is a little harder to recall every day. At first it was all so fresh in my mind, as clear and real as if everything had happened only hours ago, but I'm getting older now… and I don't care if anyone ever wishes to read it or not, I just don't want them all to be forgotten._

_Hey, maybe I'll have it published as a book when I'm finished, who knows? If so, then maybe I should begin with a proper introduction, uh, it can always be edited later if I decide I don't like it. As I said, my name is Link Junior, but I will absolutely not stand for anyone calling me Junior, not since my friend… we'll get to that later. Anyway, I am the Lord Sheriff of Hyrule, responsible for dispensing justice and keeping the peace throughout all the different provinces, just like my father was before me._

_My father… when I was a boy, a stupid, stupid boy, I hated being his son, and for selfish reasons. The whole kingdom loved Link Senior; after all he was the great hero who defeated Ganondorf and rescued Princess Zelda from Spectacle Rock, not bad for a common forest bandit, right? Surprised? Most people don't know that part of the story; my father was not some high-born noble who rode on a white horse to protect the land, no my mother told me the truth. He was a thief who swindled travelers out of their money._

_How he did it was actually pretty creative; he and his best friend, Agahnim the wizard, that's Agahnim Senior, not the one my age, would stage a robbery, with Link coming to rescue the frightened people at the last minute. The travelers were so grateful for their hero that they always rewarded him quite well, and then once it was over my father and Agahnim would split the rupees. It was a complete accident that they ended up involved in the quest to save the Princess, and although The Legend of Zelda is an epic stage play performed every year, the real story makes me wonder how any of them managed to survive at all._

_My father, Agahnim, Lady Miranda, and Prince Façade of Arcadia, the great heroes of Hyrule… sure. Link and Façade nearly killed each other because they each thought the other worked for Ganondorf, while Agahnim and Miranda ended up getting married when the whole affair was done. Did you know that she was actually Blind the Master Thief back in the day? Yes, they reclaimed the two Triforces, and defeated Ganondorf, happily ever after as Zelda and Façade got married, yes, wonderful… I had to hear that story so many times._

_Throughout my whole childhood I was always told how great my father was, and how everyone expected the same of me, but I wanted to be noticed for my own deeds, not just because I was the son of a hero. My father would tell me that one day I was going to be the Lord Sheriff, and that the silver sword he had been given by the King would be passed to me, but honestly I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted to go off and have my own adventure, somewhere far away where I could start off on my own, but then my mother would tell me how just running off like that would break my father's heart._

_Defeating Ganondorf wasn't his only accomplishment, oh no, just being a hero once over was not enough for Link Senior, not at all. There is another stage play that gets performed at yearly celebrations, and although the actors do their rendition of The Adventure of Link, it is nothing like the real story. The play would have everyone believe that my father went on an epic quest to recover the lost third Triforce, and that he rescued my mother in the process of saving the whole kingdom… not quite._

_See, the original Princess Zelda was placed under a spell by my mother, but I guess she screwed up somehow and ended up trapping both of them by the curse forever, I don't really understand that part. Anyway, after getting dozens of Hyrule's greatest heroes killed by traps that she created, it was finally my father's turn. This time he had to go alone, since someone named Gooma, who was Ganondorf's butler or something, was trying to steal the throne. The other heroes stopped him, while Link managed to not get himself killed… I'll just skip to the end; he found the Triforce, woke up the Princess, and then married my mother… just between you and me, the Princess turned him down flat._

_I knew my responsibilities, but I still wanted to leave the kingdom, at least for a while. Instead I was trained as a guard, and sent to do a tour of duty in several villages in different Provinces, since this was how my father believed I should begin learning how to succeed him. Not by pillaging ancient crypts or fighting off evil sorcerers, but by breaking up tavern brawls and listening to villagers argue about property lines. My little brother seemed to enjoy it enough, and I suggested that he should become the next Lord Sheriff, but my father wouldn't hear it. Besides, they had different plans for him._

_My best friend throughout those days was Agahnim Junior, the son of my father's best friend… fitting, right? Anyhow, my best friend had a younger sister, and my brother went head over heels for her the instant they met. It was decided by our collective parents that while I was to be the next Sheriff and Agahnim was to be the King's next Court Wizard, my brother was to marry his sister, and become the next Lord of the Southern Outskirts Province… so much political nonsense to remember that it makes my head hurt._

_Agahnim wanted to leave Hyrule as much as I did, and no not just because his blue skin would turn red with anger whenever he saw his sister holding onto my brother's arm when they walked together. He wanted his own life as well, being that his father was a great hero as well, and we started making plans to take a voyage together. I remember feeling thrilled as the two of us stayed up late at night, figuring out how we were going to get a boat, and then actually where we were going to go… honestly, we had no idea. Getting a boat was easy, it just took money, but then, I guess… just sail until we landed somewhere?_

_What foolish, prideful boys we were, thinking that just because at our age our fathers lived in a cave and had to make their own way, that we could do the same. We talked about rescuing some Princess from a faraway land and becoming heroes ourselves, and then the people would say: Gosh, does anyone know where they came from? No, I've never heard of their fathers. Yes, eventually, we planned to come back, maybe after a couple years or so, but the only problem was that we were going to have to sneak away. My father would never allow it, and Agahnim's father, well… I once saw him turn a prisoner into one of those gelatinous Bot creatures… it was horrible… not a man you wanted to cross._

_So we had everything planned out; enough rupees saved up for a boat, plenty of supplies, and the infinite hopefulness of youth. However, when the morning came for us to leave, the two of us received the shock of our lives when not one, but both of our fathers were waiting there for us. They were just sitting there on the boat, laughing together as they talked about nothing important, and I thought that we were in a lot of trouble. However, this was not the care… instead, our fathers both wished us luck, with Link Senior saying that he understood why we were leaving._

_I think that was the first time I really had a conversation with my father that didn't begin with 'now see here, boy', and that was also the first time that I really felt like I was an adult in charge of my own destiny. Funny thing is that anyone who has actually grown up would give anything to be a child again, but those are lessons that we learn in time. He told me to be careful, and that he expected me to come back with plenty of my own stories to tell, and he was right… oh, my word he was right. Agahnim and I should have never left home._

_Our fathers left just as the sun was coming up, and that was that… time to cast off. The two of us were all smiles as we untied our small wooden boat from the dock and set the sails… sometimes if I think really hard I can still smell the warm breeze that carried us away from the port. I looked back as the kingdom of Hyrule got smaller, eventually losing sight of my home completely as we hit the open water, and that was the first time it dawned on me that we were off on our own. No history, no responsibility, just me and my best friend off to find our fortunes, and seek out adventure… and all that._

_Adventure, though… while it can be fun and spark the imagination to hear the tales of great heroes like my father, one thing I learned was that the stories are better. Real adventure is frightening, and it can hurt… not just physically, but deep into your heart. Oh, you better believe that I had my own adventure, much more than I expected, but I didn't tell any epic tales upon my eventual return. In fact, I didn't say much about the whole affair, to anyone really… not to my parents, my brother, not even to my little niece Lina when she would ask me to tell her stories before bed._

_Now I have to write it all down, there's no choice, because I almost forgot Marin's name the other day. Marin… sometimes at night I still cry a little when I think about her… her, and Agahnim, and my damn selfish need for adventure. I've never told anyone the tale, but I will now… I will write down every word about what happened to me on Koholint Island, no matter how painful it is to remember… and it all started with two idiots on a little wooden ship… headed for stormy weather._


	2. Chapter 2 The Storm

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Two: The Storm**

_For the first week or so of our voyage across the ocean, the wind was high and the seas were calm, perfect sailing weather as my father once said when he was teaching me. But it was not to last, since the weather out on open water could change even faster than on land, and the waves were getting taller… a bad sign. I remember waking up from my nap when Agahnim warned me of the change, and then I saw the dark clouds ahead… actually, it was like an approaching wall of darkness, and by the time we trimmed the sails, there was no way to avoid it._

"One… two… three!" Link called out as he and the wizard pulled the rope. "All right, I'll hold it while you tie it off!"

Having to yell to be heard over the howling wind, the young man nearly lost his footing on a wet spot on the deck, thanks to the water that was splashing over the side. With the waves getting taller, the small boat was rocked sharply upward, only to come crashing back down harder and harder as they entered the storm, forcing Agahnim to vanish into thin air, only to reappear on the other side of the rigging to avoid being tossed overboard. Between the two of them, they managed to get the sails trimmed, but now it was starting to rain, and there was a crash of thunder as the skies only got blacker ahead.

Even though there were still several hours before sunset, everything was getting so dark that it appeared to be midnight, but thankfully the wizard was able to light the lanterns with some flame from his hand, even though they had gotten wet. The candles inside of the small metal cages bolted to the frame of the boat didn't give off a lot of light, but it was enough to see… barely… oh well, the dim orange illumination that allowed them to see the edges of the boat was better than nothing.

"Junior, tie yourself off with this rope!" Agahnim called out, passing the end to him. "If this storm keeps getting worse, you could get blown over the side, and I'd never know!"

The young man absolutely hated being called Junior, but he hated the idea of being tossed into open water during a thunderstorm even worse, so he took the rope and tied it around his waist. The other end was fastened to the railing, as was the one holding the wizard, so great, at least they wouldn't drown unless the boat sank… a comforting thought. A cloth tarp had been stretched over a large area of the deck, allowing the two of them some shelter as they used the rudder to keep on course while trying not to get turned sideways by the waves, but that shelter only lasted until the cloth was soaked, and then it was just raining a little less on them.

"So, is this how adventures start?!" Link called as they steered. "Getting soaking wet in the rain?!"

"I'm not sure!" The wizard called back, struggling to turn them slightly starboard. "My mother said _her_ adventure started when my _father_ tried to rob her carriage, but I don't want to steal from anyone!"

Both of them had a good laugh at this, reciting the ridiculous dialogue that Agahnim and Link Senior had used during their performance to make travelers passing through Hyrule's Eastern Forest feel like they had been rescued from a robbery. Obviously, neither of them had been there in person, but Agahnim's mother, Lady Miranda, had told them the story several times… never managing to keep a straight face even once when she got to the part where Link Senior fell through the carriage roof because _he thought it was solid_.

Suddenly there was a crash of thunder, lighting up the sky when lightning struck the water, and then all other noise being drowned out when the thunder followed less than a second later. The wind was getting stronger as well, with the bow of their boat nearly pointing straight up into the air with the next wave, and then coming back down so hard that both of them were knocked from their feet. A large amount of water came spilling over the side this time, extinguishing one of the lanterns while the young man grabbed a bucket to start bailing, but more came in each time he threw it out.

"_Reflejer_!" The wizard yelled, aiming his hand toward the edge. "This isn't going to work, Junior, we need to set the sails and steer out of the storm before we're sunk!"

"I know, I know!" Link called back, having to grab onto a support to keep from getting knocked over again. "The wind's too strong… can you give me a shield or something?!"

The spell Agahnim had used on the edge of the deck had created a shimmering distortion, like a wall that kept water from splashing over for a time, and it was possible that he could do that for Link, but would it be enough to block the wind and rain… let alone thunder and lightning? The young man didn't need to actually climb up onto the rigging to set the sails, since they were tied off to the deck and the pullys would do the rest, but he was still going to have to be right next to the boat's mast, which was the tallest thing around… not such a hot idea during a storm.

For a moment the wind and rain stopped hitting him as the spell was cast, allowing Link to move freely toward the mast, except for having to hold on when the waves tossed them upward. Still, this allowed him to make his way over to where the ropes were tied, although the young man quickly ducked down when a bolt of lightning struck the water a lot closer to the boat than the last one had done. Agahnim yelled something, probably for him to hurry, but the words were drowned out by the thunder crash that followed.

"I've almost got it!" The young man yelled, loosening the first knot. "Get ready to steer us south as soon as the wind catches!"

"Just hurry up and get out of there!" The wizard yelled, fighting with the rudder on his own. "The lightning strikes are getting closer!"

_Yes_! The first knot came loose, sending the rope flying upward as the top sails came rolling down, and the wind caught it quickly, but it wasn't enough to get them onto a new course. So Link rushed to the other side of the deck, grabbing the slippery knot and pulling on the end with all his strength… only to lose his footing when the next wave hit. Saving himself from a nasty fall by grabbing onto the rigging, the young man held onto that with one hand, while trying again at the rope with the other. Even though he was tied to the boat, he clung tightly to the rigging, pulling and pulling on the rope until it was just starting to…

_CRASH_! Suddenly there was an intense flash of light, and the young man only had an instant to realize that the mast had just been struck by an enormous bolt of lightning, before everything around him vanished in a flash of white as he was thrown backwards. At some point Link must've landed in the water, because the next thing he was aware of, was the fact that he was floating. Well, maybe it was more like sinking, but he couldn't move a muscle, probably dazed from the hit.

Slowly the ringing in his ears faded away, leaving no sound but the bubbling water that was all around him as he slowly sunk down… down… down, even more slowly flipping forward around and around, with no sign of the storm, the boat, or Agahnim anywhere around him. Just the cold darkness of the ocean, so… was he drowning? Had the storm knocked him so silly that his body didn't yet understand that he was drowning? _Ugh_… as the ringing in his ears stopped, the young man became aware of a throbbing pain in his head, and… oh man, it was bad, like his skull was about to split in half.

Still floating downward, spinning and flipping, Link suddenly became aware of something else, but this had to be a hallucination… because it was starting to sound like there was some kind of music coming from somewhere far away. It was clear, though, even though quiet and not sounding like it was underwater at all… and then he hit something solid. Going face first into a solid wall made of a soft substance that clouded the water when he thrashed around, all of a sudden the young man's lungs must have woken up, because they were screaming for air.

Flailing and beating at the solid wall, Link backed away from it out of desperation, only to be shocked when his eyes were filled with light… sunlight. Breathing heavily in and out while rubbing his eyes, it took the young man a minute to realize that instead of kicking away from a strange wall deep underwater, he had simply stood up on the sand of a coastal shore… and was knocked down again when the next wave hit him from behind.

Just before the hit that pushed him underwater again, Link had seen land, so he crawled toward it, splashing and kicking off of the sand below as the water got shallow, and then he dragged himself onto the hot beach sand of an island… at least he thought it was an island. Crawling on his belly like a snake, because the fatigue wracking his body would allow nothing more, Link looked up and saw that there was a forest beyond the beach, and beyond that… it looked like there was a mountain on the center of the island, if this was one, with something… big on top of it.

The young man's vision was starting to go dark as the fatigue took over, forcing him to squint his eyes and strain to see the gigantic pink-spotted white object that was sitting on top of that distant mountain. But then he fell on his face, kicking up some of the sand near his mouth when he breathed out heavily, and… was there someone… coming toward him? All he could see was a blur as the figure moving toward him down the beach got closer, and there was no more to see as his eyes closed… just that same music… playing softly from somewhere far away as Link drifted off to sleep.

That music… it was so… soothing…


	3. Chapter 3 Koholint Island

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Three: Koholint Island**

_I'm still not sure how I mustered up the willpower to crawl onto that beach after what happened, but I was aware of someone walking up to me as I lost consciousness, and I think they even said something to me, but all I heard was a muffled slur of words as I blacked out. So, my quest for adventure was off to a great start; my ship was destroyed in a lightning storm, I had washed up on some island in the middle of nowhere, and… and worst of all, more than fearing for my own safety, I had no idea what had happened to Agahnim, or if he had even survived the lightning strike._

The last of Link's senses to fade into darkness was his hearing, but then after what felt like only a couple seconds, the sounds of crashing waves and calling seagulls had simply vanished. A soft wind could still be heard, along with the wooden tapping of what sounded like shutters, so… was he inside? The grogginess of everything that happened since the storm was slowly wearing off, allowing the young man to become aware enough to feel that he was lying on his back, and that the ground was soft… no, this was more like the mattress of a small bed… a house?

It was a struggle at first to open his eyes, and when he was finally able to, Link had to blink several times in order to make the last bit of haze clear from his vision. Yes, the beach that he had washed up on was gone, replaced with what looked like a small cottage. There was a loose shutter lightly tapping on the window, as he thought, but the rest were open so that sunlight could get in, letting the young man see that this place was modestly decorated, a peasant's home… and he was not alone in this place.

"Hey… you awake?" A soft female voice asked. "Dad… hey, dad! He's waking up!"

Somewhere on the other side of the cottage from where the young man was facing, there came the sound of someone snorting, and then a chair sliding a bit across the wooden floor as if just waking up themselves, but Link's vision had blurred again. Rubbing his eyes as a cup of water was suddenly brought to his lips, the young man took a sip before opening his eyes… and then just holding the water in his mouth mid-swallow as he looked at the most beautiful young woman that he had ever seen.

He wasn't sure how long he kept staring at her, taking in the image of her long red hair that clashed with the blue dress she was wearing, but suddenly the moment was interrupted when a large hand clamped down on his shoulder from the other side, making Link cough as he reflexively tried to swallow the water that was still in his mouth. Turning his head to see who the cottage's other occupant was, the young man was surprised to see a tall, stocky man with a thick mustache now standing over him.

"Well, look who's finally awake… thought you were gonna die there for a while." The big man said with a friendly tone, laughing a little as he patted Link's shoulder hard. "All right, let's get you on your feet; gotta make sure all that seawater didn't soak into your mind."

It wasn't so much helping the young man up, as roughly yanking him up to his feet, but it was a good thing that the big man was holding him, because Link's legs weren't quite ready to go back to work just yet. They were responding, but were sluggish and sore as if he had just run several miles at full speed, slowly improving while the big man walked him around the cottage a few times. _Tarin_ was the name he introduced himself as, but the young man was far more interested in finding out that the young woman's name was _Marin_, especially when he introduced her as his daughter, and not his wife or anything like that.

Was it kind of selfish that Link was having these kind of thoughts right now instead of trying to figure out where he was or what happened to his best friend? Yes, but it wasn't like he couldn't just ask them at any given time. Asking where he was after almost being able to walk around the cottage on his own, the big man replied that they were in Mabe Village, but what surprised the young man was that both of his hosts acted surprised when he inquired as to the name of the island itself.

"What do you mean?" Marin asked, getting him some more water. "No matter how lost you are, it's still _Koholint Island_, silly. You must have hit your head pretty hard when your raft broke apart."

"It wasn't a raft, it was a boat." The young man replied after taking another drink. "I was crossing the ocean from Hyrule when the storm hit, and the lightning must've…

Link stopped talking when he saw that the two of them were looking at each other like they didn't know what he was talking about… but how could that be? Surely they knew about Hyrule or at least _some_ other nearby lands… after all, they all spoke the same language, so there had to be some kind of common ground there. One other strange thing was that even though the young man was sure that he had never been to this place before, the name Koholint Island was somehow familiar… couldn't place it, though.

"Hey Marin, maybe our friend, _Link_, here needs some fresh air." The big man suggested. "Why don't you take him outside and show him around town… that oughta help him shake off the confusion."

For a moment the young man got nervous that Tarin knew his name, since he didn't remember introducing himself just yet, but then he sighed with relief when the big man brought over his freshly washed shirt. It had always annoyed Link that his mother had stitched his name on the inside of all his clothes, so the other town guards wouldn't grab any of his things by accident, she said, but at least it provided a logical explanation as to how these people already knew who he was.

Walking around on his own still took a little bit of effort, but going and seeing the village would give him the chance to ask about Agahnim as well as learn a bit more about this island he was on… with the added bonus of having some time to get to know Marin. Sure, he had only known the young woman for about thirty seconds, but there was nothing wrong with building a friendship, and… damn it, Link's parents had met because of an ancient curse, so was finding a pretty girl after getting shipwrecked so far-fetched?

Outside of the cottage was a stone path that went forward into the rest of Mabe Village, a grassy place that was bordered to the north by a forest consisting of a mixture of palm trees and pines… sort of like it didn't know whether or not it wanted to be tropical or temperate. Up above the sky was blue with only a few puffy white clouds that left no sign of the storm that had destroyed his boat, and… actually this place was pretty nice so far.

With a setup similar to most of the smaller villages in Hyrule, there were cottages where the people lived, there was a shop, and even a library. Some children were playing catch with a ball while others ran around chasing each other, as children were known to do, but there didn't seem to be any guards patrolling around. That was odd to him, since even in the safest places in Hyrule, there were still guards just in case, but apparently the people of Mabe Village didn't feel the need for any.

"That's Ulriria's house over there." Marin continued, pointing to a smaller cottage that was bordered almost completely with hedges. "He's kind of shy, but he's really wise… and that's Madam Meow-Meow's home over there?"

"Madam… _Meow-Meow_?" The young man asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at the cottage that had some kind of animal kennel in front of it. "Oh, hey Marin, I meant to ask you; do you know if anyone here found someone else besides me washed up on the shore? My best friend was with me when the storm hit, and I'm worried about him."

The young woman thought for a second, but disappointed Link when she replied that no one else said anything about it, and that _he_ was the only one Marin personally found. Apparently, it was a rare thing for a stranger to arrive on Koholint Island, but it did happen from time to time, but with most people believing that they simply came from a more distant part of the island. In fact, the last time anyone reported meeting a stranger was _years_ ago, and that couldn't have possibly been Agahnim, since they had been together only the previous day.

It wasn't something that he wanted to admit, or even consider, but there was a possibility that the wizard hadn't been lucky enough to find his way to the island at all… he could've floated the opposite direction on a piece of the boat, or… no, besides that there was only _one_ alternative, and the young man didn't want to think about his best friend being lost forever. Man, what was he going to do? Maybe the library had some maps of the island and the surrounding waters, or maybe that _Ulriria_ person Marin had mentioned knew something since he was supposed to be so wise about…

"I wish I could give you better news." The young woman continued, interrupting his thoughts. "But all I found on the beach was you and a bunch of wood from your raft."

Link was about to correct her that it was a _boat_ and not a _raft_, but then he stopped, and realized what he could do. If he and some wreckage from his boat washed up on the beach, then maybe Agahnim had washed up there, too, and maybe he was still there. Was the wizard searching along the beach for him at this very moment? Or was he hurt, and not lucky enough to be rescued by the beautiful Marin. Either way, there was at least a chance of finding him if the young woman could show him where it was that she discovered him.

"Yes, I can show you where I found you." She replied a bit hesitantly. "Well… I can show you where the beach is, and you can go from there."

Apparently, she had to help Tarin gather mushrooms, and Link's sudden return to consciousness had caused them to get a pretty late start as it is, so he didn't pressure her any farther. Just the fact that the young woman had helped him as much as she did, well… it was a debt he didn't know if he could ever repay. So of course it was more than enough for her to show him the way to the beach, and as soon as he found his missing friend, then the young man would help her gather all the mushrooms in the whole damn forest.


	4. Chapter 4 Shipwreck

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Four: Shipwreck**

_I was filled with hope that Agahnim was still alive as I left Mabe Village, following the directions to the beach where the young woman had found me… but my thoughts were also filled with images of Marin, herself. She was so beautiful, and kind, not to mention the fact that she had saved my life when I washed up onto the island like a drowned rat. Girls like her didn't show up every day, and I remember deciding that I was going to get to know her better once I knew that my best friend was safe… but as I soon learned, every inch of Koholint Island was filled with surprises._

Going past the stone building that was the library, and then following the path south just like Marin said, Link started to find white sand along the ground as the forest thinned out. Seagulls could be heard now, and a strong breeze was blowing through the palm trees, while… while there was nothing beyond the shoreline but water… endless water in all directions. This was normal, since usually any islands in the ocean were too far apart to be seen with the naked eye anyway, but something about the way the water stretched out across the horizon made it seem… I don't know, more _final_, maybe?

Anyway, the young woman had told him to turn right as soon as the path ended, and then to start walking along the shore until he found the wreckage, which according to her, he couldn't miss. Seashells and small rocks littered the ground, with the occasional scurrying crab running past the young man's feet, but with as active as the people inside the village had been, Link was surprised to find the beach deserted. Well, it was pretty late in the day, sometimes in the afternoon by the sun's position in the sky, so maybe everyone was doing things like how Marin was gathering mushrooms for… huh… he had completely forgotten to ask her why she was getting them in the first place.

Was that how she and her father made money? Did they cook up mushrooms and other things and sell them at a stall like the ones found at the bazaar in Port Hylia? The young man's stomach grumbled, making him realize that he hadn't eaten anything since the boat had been destroyed, so some friend mushrooms were sounding pretty good right about now. Link really hoped it was true, since in addition to all the things he liked so far about the young woman, her being able to cook would have been a huge bonus… if she ended up liking him at all.

From hearing the story about the curse that caused his parents to meet, the young man knew to be careful about assuming how others felt about him, especially when it came to women, since his father had made that mistake with the original Princess Zelda. He had assumed that because he was the great hero who was rescuing her, that the Princess would just fall into his arms, but this turned out to not be the case. While Zelda hadn't completely ripped the heart from his chest, she had explained to Link Senior that she just didn't share those feelings.

Honestly, that must have been crushing to his old man, but then again the young man wouldn't be here today if the story ended differently. Besides, his mother was way better than the Princess, anyway… I mean, she could do magic that was even better than what Agahnim's father could do… even though this power didn't seem to get passed on to him. It would've been nice to be able to create shields, or toss fire from his hands, or even do that vanishing thing like his best friend could, but… yeah… it just wasn't there.

"Agahnim!" Link called, putting his hands around his mouth. "Agahnim, where are you?!"

It was the sight of a piece of the ship's hull that prompted him to start calling out for the wizard; a piece of completely broken, yet new looking wood that was sticking out of the sand near the water, but the waves had erased any footprints, if there had even been any in the sand, so the young man had no choice but to keep going. More and more pieces of the boat were discovered as he continued along the beach, finding parts of the mast and even some of the tattered sails… hey, maybe there was enough material there to build a smaller boat and leave the island after everything was said and done.

Or maybe a new boat could be acquired from someone on the island, since Marin said they at least had rafts, and… wait a second, maybe he would be forced to get a new boat, since a lot of the wood from the wreckage was starting to not look so good. Most of the wreckage he found was in really good shape, just blasted apart by lightning and waves, but some of the wood looked like it was rotten and starting to fall apart. Sun-bleached from what looked like a long time on the beach with no cover, a lot of the wood had turned white, as if… no, it couldn't be the same ship, this stuff looked like it had been there for years.

Marin had mentioned that another castaway had been seen on the island a really long time ago, so maybe it was his boat. Sure would be nice to find that person, if he was even still on the island, but it was starting to look like Link was going to have plenty of time to find out. Even if the village library didn't have any nautical maps, he was sure that one of the island itself could be found, so he was going to learn the layout of the place, and then perhaps Marin would be willing to be a guide for him… if nothing else, it was an excuse to spend some more time with her.

There was more wood now, a lot more as if it was the majority of a boat that was sticking out of the sand in pieces, but it was all white and rotten, with just a few pieces of the newer stuff mixed in. One thing among the wreckage did catch his attention, though, and that was because it reflected the sunlight in his eyes as if it were a piece of metal. Walking toward it, and then having to kneel down in order to dig the object out of the wet sand, the young man was surprised to find that it was a small shield like the kind that the town guards of Hyrule wore on their forearm. But then on further inspection, he discovered that after wiping more of the sand off, that this wasn't just any shield… it was _his_.

The word _Link_ was carved onto the inside of the metal, again something his mother had insisted upon, but it felt good to lock the shield back onto his arm, since it was like reclaiming something that had been lost. It would've been nice to find his sword lying around somewhere as well, but that felt a little bit like pressing his luck, and there was still no sign of Agahnim. Calling out for his friend once again, the young man got up and just kept walking along the shore, but then stopping after a few minutes when something reached his ear.

Besides the sound of the wind and waves, mixed in with the constant cawing of the seagulls, there was music. It was the same tune that he had heard after the lightning strike during the storm, and now there it was again, sounding like it was far away, but definitely coming from somewhere up ahead. Music like that had to be played by someone, and maybe that person knew what happened to Agahnim, or at least saw something, so Link walked faster… but instead of finding someone playing music on the beach, the only thing in front of him was a cave.

Carved into a large rock formation that was just jutting out of the ground, the entrance to the cave was dark and foreboding, but that music was a little clearer now, and coming from inside… at least, it was until it faded away moments later. Now, everything was quiet again, aside from the waves and such, but as the young man looked around, he noticed that he wasn't alone there. No, his new companion wasn't Agahnim, or even a person at all, it was an owl… a pretty big one that was just glaring at him, almost… _judgmentally_ as it sat perched on top of some kind of small pole that was sticking out of the sand.

"Well, hey there, little guy." Link said as he slowly approached the animal. "I don't suppose you know where…

The owl hissed and bit at him when he reached out to pet it, interrupting the young man's words when he was forced to quickly pull his hand back, and then the animal just glared at him again, narrowing its eyes. For a little while he and the owl just stood there, staring at each other, but then Link became distracted when he heard that music again, just for a few seconds. Again, it was distant and difficult to make out against the other sounds around him, but it was _definitely_ coming from inside the cave… there was no doubt about it.

"All right, I'll tell you what." Link said, looking back at the owl. "I'll go and check out the dark, scary cave, and you… you just stay up here."

_Hoot_! As if it was able to understand the words, the animal let out its call while still glaring at him, and the young man just rolled his eyes while turning toward the entrance to the cave. His feet sank a little into the wet sand, since he had to go out a little closer to the water in order to get around the edge of the cave wall, but once inside he was relieved that some of the sunlight was able to get in. Once Link's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was able to see the rocky outline of a tunnel that sloped slightly downward.

Progressing farther toward the back of the cave, and wondering what the hell he was doing this for, the young man cursed loudly when his foot struck one of the larger rocks, as he was unable to see it because of the diminishing light levels. _Brilliant, Link_, he said to himself, _just brilliant walking into a dark cave without a lantern, or a candle, or anything_. But then he rounded a corner and suddenly there was more light… coming just in time to stop him from taking another step, which would have sent the young man tumbling down… a set of carved stairs?

There were little holes punched through the rock that made up the cave's ceiling at regular intervals, allowing just enough light in for Link to see the features of the cave, specifically how the rocky walls became smooth as if purposefully carved out, descending downward sharply along a set of expertly shaped stairs that ended at a heavy looking wooden door. Carefully moving down the stairs, the young man examined the door before trying to open it, and discovered that while it had been securely locked at one time, the lock itself had been destroyed a long time ago, lying in pieces on the smooth ground nearby.

Had someone already been here? Quietly taking hold of the latch and turning it, the door swung open easily, allowing the young man free access to the place hidden by the cave on the beach.


	5. Chapter 5 The Tail Cave

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Five: The Tail Cave**

_I was pretty nervous about stepping through that door into the underground… whatever that place was supposed to be. In Hyrule a place like that would probably have been used for smugglers or bandits to hide their loot, but there were no signs of recent activity that I could see upon inspection of the first room. Dirt and rock were the only things I could smell inside of the finely carved stone sanctuary, but there were no footprints other than mine in the thick layer of dust on the floor… so I couldn't help wondering where the music I heard had come from._

Like there had been in the entrance stairway, small holes had been punched in the ceiling at regular intervals, allowing sunlight to filter down into the different rooms and corridors of this place… of course, that also meant that it would be impossible to see once the sun went down, so the exploration of the sanctuary couldn't take too long. So far, though, as the young man moved from room to silent room, all he found were some boxes that had been ransacked a long time ago, as well as… now what the hell was _this_?

Inside of the third or fourth room that he checked while headed down the main corridor, there were some skeletal remains of a small creature that looked like it walked on all fours, with a large spikey shell on its back like an overly aggressive turtle of some kind. The remains were collapsed in the corner, while black scorch marks were burned into the walls and floor immediately around it, like the creature had been burned intensely by something. However, like with everything else in this place, both the remains and the scorch marks were covered in dust, so none of this was recent.

Although the remains were old, they were by no means unique, since Link began to discover more and more of them as he explored deeper into the underground sanctuary, and all of them were in the same condition, burned intensely where they were. At first the young man thought that all these creatures had been caught in some kind of fire that spread through the sanctuary and just torched everything, but if that were the case, why were the burn marks only around the creatures and nowhere else? No, it was more likely that something had marched its way through every room and targeted them specifically… but what?

Back in Hyrule, Link would have thought that a cave-dwelling _Gleeok_ could have been responsible, but those three headed dragons were extremely rare, and from what he heard about them from his father, the flame blasts would have been a lot less precise. Now he was getting frustrated, since he knew that the music had come from this place, but so far there was literally nothing of any use down there. Taking a moment to listen just in case that music was still playing, the young man was greeted with nothing but silence, and that made him so angry that he kicked at a larger pile of remains… only to cry out in pain and surprise when something stabbed into his foot.

No, it wasn't stabbing him… when the bones of the dead creatures were scattered from the kick, one of them didn't fly apart; growling from the sudden disturbance and then biting down onto his boot with a set of teeth that were very sharp. Snarling and shaking like an angry wolf, the spiked, turtle thing bit down with all its strength while Link tried to kick it away. Since the young man was already off balance, his attempts to kick the creature, combined with his other foot being pulled backwards, caused him to fall on his back, but at least now it was easier to kick the creature.

Eventually freeing himself, the young man desperately scooted away while the surviving turtle creature scurried after him, growling and snarling as it chomped its teeth. Link grabbed a bone from one of the other creatures and tossed it at his pursuer, but the spiked turtle just caught it in its mouth, before tossing it away to keep up the chase. He kicked at the creature's face each time it gained on him, but nearly end up with his boot caught again, so the young man crawled behind a large statue, scooting his way around it in order to put enough distance between himself and the creature for him to get up.

The statue helped with that, too, giving Link something to grab onto in order to help him stand, and then he swung his shield at the creature, catching it in the side of the head with a loud _whack_ just as it was coming around. Unlike the kicks it had taken, the spiked turtle seemed to actually feel the blow from the metal shield, causing it to stumble sideways for a couple steps while tilting its head upward like it was confused. So he kept up the attack, moving forward and striking it across the head with his shield again and again, while getting a small cut on his arm from its shell spikes.

Although the shield hits were driving the creature back, they didn't seem to be actually _killing_ it, and the spiked turtle was still growling and snapping at him each chance it got, so… what happened when his arm got tired? _Whack! Whack! Whack!_ Pulling back and hitting the creature with all his strength, Link would've given _anything_ to have his sword right about now, but the only thing he could find that might be able to stab the spiked turtle was the long rib bone of another one. So after one more hit with the shield, the young man reached down to pick up the bone just as the creature started after him again.

There was no time to swing the shield, so Link thrust the pointed bone at the spiked turtle's face as hard as he could, causing it to go right down the creature's throat when it opened its mouth to bite him. Instead of tossing it aside this time like it had done before, the spiked turtle started coughing as if it were being choked by the bone, and then it eventually fell over sideways after several failed attempts to remove it. Now he just stood there, breathing heavily while keeping the shield raised in a defensive posture just in case the thing came back to life, but thankfully it didn't.

Man… no wonder something came through this place and torched all of them… those things were _awful_, but right now the young man was just grateful that there had only been one of them. Still, even though he had been victorious, his encounter with the spiked turtle thing had left him with a cut arm and a sore foot, making Link decide to leave the sanctuary, at least until he was a little better equipped to face whatever else might have been still lurking down there. Turning to head back toward the surface, he had only taken a couple steps when that same music reached his ears, once again coming from deeper inside this place, making him grit his teeth with anger.

"Damn it, who the _hell_ is doing that?!" He called loudly, his voice echoing as he boldly marched deeper into the sanctuary. "You think this is funny?! Huh?! Well, you better show yourself right the hell now, or else I'm gonna take whatever instrument you're playing that on, and I'm gonna shove it right up your…

Angrily stomping his way around the corner, and descending another carved staircase as his anger at being led around grew to the point where he didn't care if there was another spiked turtle waiting for him, the young man passed through the archway into a much larger, open chamber, where something _big_ was just sitting there in the center. At first it looked like just a mass of tan colored nothing, but then a large pair of compound eyes opened toward the top, and Link's anger faded when it's sectioned, almost snake-like body started to uncoil.

"_What… outsider_?!" It growled between the clicks and buzzing that accompanied its high pitch voice. "_Outsider… yes, outsider… kill outsider_!"

Suddenly the spiked turtle didn't seem so bad as this monster scurried around the room in a quick circle as if making a survey, its multiple legs rapidly tapping across the stone floor while its large mandibles snapped open and closed. Then it spun around one more time before coming right at him, and Link did the only logical thing he could think of… he ran for his life. With only the small shield to protect himself, and unwilling to try kicking this monster away since one of its mandibles was bigger than his foot, the young man ran out of the chamber and sprinted back up the stairs, hoping that its body would be too big to fit between the narrow walls.

Unfortunately, this was not the case, and the creature just had to slow down a little in order to squeeze itself through, but it did allow the young man to put some distance between them. Turning left and ducking through the first doorway that he came to, Link went around the doorframe and pressed himself up against the wall as flat as he could, hoping that the monster would simply continue down the corridor so that he could have enough time to come up with… some way to keep himself alive.

_Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap_, the monster's tiny legs got louder as it approached, but then the young man had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from letting out a loud sigh of relief that probably would have led it right to him. Okay, the monster went off in a different direction, meaning that Link had some time to figure things out… the only problem was that in going past him in that direction, the monster had blocked the path back to the surface, so a simple escape was no longer an option. Somehow he figured that shoving a rib bone into the thing's mouth wasn't going to cut it this time, and the young man couldn't just stay where he was, so he took a risk by quietly creeping back out into the corridor.

So far there was no sign of the monster, but its tracks could be seen in the dust, so Link took another path, moving silently through another empty room and into its connecting hallway. Back on the surface, the sun must have moved a bit, because the light coming in through the holes in the ceiling wasn't as bright as it was before, and that almost caused him to step right into a dark hole where the floor was missing just before the corridor stopped at a dead end. Well, it wasn't exactly a dead end, since there was a ladder going down into the darkness, but the young man didn't fancy heading down into a place with even less light than…

"_Outsider_!" The monster's voice screamed, clicking and buzzing as it approached. "_Kill… kill outsider_!"

Suddenly the darkness didn't seem so bad, so the young man got onto the ladder, and climbed down to the lower level as fast as he could, with the monster following close behind.


	6. Chapter 6 Instruments of the Sirens

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Six: Instruments of the Sirens**

_I wish I could sit here and tell you that I wasn't afraid as I descended down the ladder into the darkness beneath the hidden sanctuary, but that would be a lie. Between the injuries I had already taken from that spiked turtle, which I later figured out was actually a beetle, and the large monster pursuing me relentlessly, I was quite terrified, even though my youthful pride would have never allowed me to admit it until recently. I was mentally kicking myself the whole time, thinking that I had wandered into this thing's nest like an idiot, but the truth was that this monster was guarding a secret… a big one._

Grabbing onto the sides of the ladder and sliding down as if it were a pole, Link hit the rocky ground hard enough to fall on his back, looking up just in time to see the segmented monster looking down at him. Clicking and buzzing, the creature continued repeating that it was going to kill the outsider, and then it attempted to use the ladder, itself. Unfortunately for the monster, its multiple legs were too short to effectively grab onto the rungs, so it ended up diving head first down toward Link, who managed to roll out of the way just before it hit the ground with a hard _thud_!

The monster groaned and rolled onto its side, clearly stunned from the fall, and if the young man had a sword or anything else besides just the small shield on his arm, now would have been the perfect time to strike. However, since he didn't have any of those things, and didn't fancy the idea of simply waiting around for it to recover to the chase could resume, Link made a bold move by running _toward_ the monster. Leaping over the smaller section of its tail, he grabbed onto the ladder, and started climbing back up toward the sanctuary, getting about half way there before the monster realized what was happening.

With an echoing _wham_, the segmented creature rammed its head into the bottom of the ladder, making it shake so badly that the young man nearly lost his grip. Saving himself by looping his arm around the next rung, Link looked down just in time to see the monster jump upward so that it grabbed onto the ladder to start its own climb… only to fall off a moment later. It tried again, growling and snarling as it jumped onto the ladder again, and again, and again, but its legs just weren't long enough to support such an action… the monster was trapped down there.

"It can't climb?" He asked, suddenly filling with renewed confidence. "Hey, you can't climb! Enjoy your new home!"

"_Kill outsider_!" The segmented creature's words echoed as he reached the top. "_Kill! Kill! Kill!_"

The yelling got quieter once Link was back up in the sanctuary, becoming muffled to the point where he couldn't hear it at all as he tried to find his way back to the surface, but then he realized that he was going the wrong way after finding himself back in the same chamber where the segmented monster had been sleeping. The young man was about to turn around, but then he noticed another doorway on the far side… and a lot more sunlight was coming from the ceiling in there. It would be a shame to go through all that for nothing, so Link walked through the chamber, passing through the open doorway, and discovering a large wooden treasure chest.

A much larger hole had been punched in the ceiling, allowing a large cone of light to completely illuminate the box, and just like with the front door of this place, the lock that once kept it secure was lying on the ground in pieces. Taking a moment to check around the chest for traps, the young man shrugged before pulling open the lid, and there, shimmering in the sunlight in all its magnificence and splendor… was a… cello?

Not rupees, not jewels, not even a sword, which would have been nice, but a large musical instrument that actually looked brand new, in spite of being locked away for years probably. At first glance it didn't seem like anything special, but then again he had almost gotten himself killed to get it, so the young man picked up the instrument, finding it strangely warm to the touch. Was this where the music had been coming from? If so, then who had been playing it, and why?

The sunlight coming in through the holes in the ceiling was continuing to slowly dim, so Link tucked his _treasure_ under his arm, and started walking back toward the surface. The trip was a lot faster without those spiked turtles or a big monster to get in his way, so pretty soon the young man was walking up the last set of stone stairs, and out of the cave entrance, where the sun was much lower in the sky now than it had been when he entered.

"You're _alive_?!" A new, surprised voice asked. "How did an _idiot_ like you get past the Moldorm?"

Startled by the voice, Link looked around in all directions, but didn't see anyone around… nothing but crashing waves and cawing seagulls… oh wait, that owl was still there, perched on that pole just like before. The animal was just staring at him again, following the young man around with its eyes as he looked around for the owner of that voice. Still, he couldn't even find any tracks in the sand besides his own, so where had it come from, and why wasn't this person showing themselves?

"I don't suppose _you_ saw anyone, did you?" Link asked the owl, laughing a bit. "You think they're scared of me?"

"Oh yeah, everyone's _real _scared of _you_, boy." The owl replied, making him jump a bit. "I mean, who wouldn't be after hearing those _battle cries_ of yours that sounded like a frightened girl, right? I don't know how you _dumb-lucked_ your way through the Tail Cave like that, but somehow you got the _Full Moon Cello_ in your hands, so I guess flying all the way out here wasn't a _complete_ waste of time after all."

Full Moon Cello, Link wondered? Looking down at the large musical instrument in his hands, he had to admit that there didn't appear to be anything remarkable about it, but then the owl's eyes widened a bit when the young man explained that he found it by following some strange music that he kept hearing. Shaking its head and letting out a soft hoot that sounded irritated, the owl explained that the Full Moon Cello was one of the most precious artifacts on Koholint Island; a rare treasure that a lot of people and creatures were willing to kill for, so Link better watch his step.

"That there is one of the _Instruments of the Sirens_." The animal continued as he looked at it again. "I thought someone was pulling my leg when I heard that some _jerk_ washed up on the beach, but… no one from Koholint Island can get those instruments, so… it must be true. Seriously, though… what kind of a _moron_ goes into a dark, scary cave unarmed and without a light? At this rate you're not gonna _survive_ long enough to wake the Wind Fish at all."

"Wind… Fish?" The young man asked. "What's that?"

In response, the owl touched the end of its wing to its head as if the animal had a headache, it gave him the final advice going to the library and trying to learn a thing or two about the island instead of just running around like a chicken with its head cut off. This was good advice, even though Link didn't care for the animal's attitude toward him, so he said that he would do that, and then the owl simply flew away. Oh damn it, he completely forgot to ask the animal about Agahnim, but the young man was stopped from calling out to the owl when he saw what it had been perched on the whole time.

This wasn't a pole at all that was sticking out of the sand… it was the handle of a _sword_. Walking over to it and grabbing the hilt, Link discovered that it was his sword, since his name was engraved onto the guard… thank you, mother. The blade was slightly dulled and rusted, but that could be fixed in an hour, provided that Mabe Village had a sharpening stone, and now the young man felt a lot better about his chances on the island once his weapon was back in its sheath where it belonged. It wasn't some illustrious silver blade like the one his father carried, but it was enough to get the job done… it would have to be.

Well, he couldn't just stand there on the beach waiting for nightfall, especially if this cello really _was_ one of the most precious things on the island, so Link headed back toward town, where a very pleasant smell was waiting for him. Apparently, he had been right about Marin and her father making a living by cooking mushrooms and other things, and now it looked like the whole town was partaking, kind of like a miniature supper time festival… _wait, Link, you can't just go over there with the cello in your hands… idiot_.

Yes, after everything the owl told him about it being precious, the young man had been fully prepared to just walk into the center of Mabe Village for everyone to see it… so what was he supposed to do with it? Without a lot of options, and a growling hunger pain in his stomach, the only thing Link could come up with was to go back into Marin's house and hide the instrument as far back underneath her father's bed as possible. There was so much junk under there that hopefully no one would find it, and now it was time to join in the festival, or whatever it was.

"You're just in time for supper, Link." The young woman said happily, making him a small plate when he arrived. "Oh… did you find your friend?"

"No, I didn't… but there's still hope." He replied as they sat down together. "And speaking of searching around, do you know if the shop in town has a lantern? I need to do some reading in the library tonight, and I'll probably be up pretty late."

She answered that the shop had things like that available, but that if he wanted, Link could just use hers… yes, that might have saved him a lot of trouble in the Tail Cave, if he had thought to ask before… but for now the young man was just going to enjoy dinner along with Marin's company. Where he had originally thought that Koholint Island was just another middle of nowhere place, it was rapidly becoming a lot more complicated… although it made him wonder… was this what it was like to start an adventure?


	7. Chapter 7 The Library

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Seven: The Library**

_I had a good time at the supper festival, and I enjoyed Marin's company more and more with each moment that I spent with her, but there were so many things going on at once that it was hard to concentrate. The rarity of outsiders on the island, Agahnim's disappearance, the instruments, the Wind Fish, that whole thing with the owl… Tarin invited me to continue staying with them until I got everything figured out, but that night was going to be one that was spent inside of the town library. A night that turned out to be a lot more eventful than I had expected._

Link didn't care for the owl very much, but it had been correct in saying that he needed to learn more about the island before wandering around, especially after the close calls the young man had inside of the Tail Cave. So after borrowing Marin's lantern, and saying goodnight to her and her father, he began making his way toward the library. It was a good thing he borrowed the lantern, because Koholint Island got amazingly dark once the sun went down, and its small circle of orange light made it a lot easier to find his way.

Upon reaching the small stone building at the edge of the village, the young man was surprised to find that the door was unlocked, but with as dusty and stale as the air was inside the place, Link wasn't surprised to find it in a neglected state. Just like down in the hidden sanctuary, there was a thick layer of dust on the floor, as well as across the tables and even the bookshelves, as if no one in Mabe Village had felt the need to look at a book in years. It was a bit hard to breathe, so the young man opened the small window on each side of the building, causing him to cough when the incoming breeze kicked up a large cloud of dust.

Between the windows and the door all being open, the cloud was sucked out in a couple minutes, but there was still quite a bit of dust. It was manageable now, so Link went around the large room, using the lantern to light the old candles that sat on metal brackets, illuminating the library in a soft orange glow. This was not the ideal amount of light to read by, but it was fine once the lantern was set down on the table next to where he decided to sit, and… it was just more comfortable to have the building not be completely dark.

For such a small village on a tiny island, there sure were a lot of books to choose from, and the young man was trying to figure out where he should start, since there wasn't any kind of directory system, when he discovered that there was already a pile of books left out on one of the back tables. A mostly burned out candle sat next to them, along with a dusty chair as if someone had been reading there right before the library had been abandoned, and there were bookmarks left inside each one as well, so… maybe these volumes were a good place to start if they were interesting enough to be left out like that.

The largest, but thinnest of the books turned out to be an atlas of Koholint Island, and although the place was a bit larger than he thought, getting oriented was easy once he found Mabe Village. So far the young man had visited the village, the Tail Cave, which was surprisingly plainly marked, and _Toronbo Shore_, which was where he had been shipwrecked. Beyond that, however, a diverse landscape was illustrated, including one other large settlement labeled… _Animal Village_… odd name, and everything from flat lands, prairies, and even a swamp. The entire northern section of the island, however, was dominated by the _Tal Tal Mountains_… where a very large white orb with pink spots sat on the very top.

Next to the orb, someone had handwritten the words 'Wind Fish?' with a circle around it, but that object didn't look much like a fish of any kind to him. Looked more like an egg, Link thought as he looked around at the rest of the map, discovering that a few more locations had been labeled in a similar way. The Tail Cave was one of them, along with a small cottage just to the south of the mountains that was labeled _'Tracy'_ but surrounded with a heart instead of a circle, and… gosh, there was just so much on the map that someone must have spent a long time figuring it all out.

Not wanting to waste the whole night looking at the atlas, the young man decided that he would simply take the page with him… no one would notice… and chose another book to look through. This one was more like a children's storybook full of local folk tales and legends, but the marked page just happened to be about the Wind Fish. The last castaway to wash up there must have been trying to figure everything out, too… but for a story that was as important as the owl said it was, there sure wasn't much written down.

The short version was that supposedly the giant orb on the top of the highest mountain on the island was actually the egg of the Wind Fish, and that the mythical creature was asleep inside. In order to wake it up, the eight Instruments of the Sirens had to be gathered together and played in front of the egg… so what, he had to get seven other people to help him play for the Wind Fish? That seemed kind of silly, but then again so did a talking owl, and even if Link did manage to _put the band together_, there was no mention of how the music was supposed to go in the first place.

What he needed to do was find the last person to wash up on the island all those years ago, but unfortunately no one in Mabe Village seemed to know much about him. The only lead as far as that was concerned was the cottage labeled Tracy… who knows, maybe the young man wasn't the only castaway to meet a pretty girl after arriving? If anyone could point him toward the other outsider, it was this Tracy person, but Link just hoped that the last arrival wasn't like a hundred years ago or anything like that… then he would truly be on his own.

Suddenly a distant rumble of thunder took his attention away from the book, and Link was forced to get up when a gust of stronger wind brought with it the first drops of rain. Closing the windows and door so that his candles wouldn't get blown out, the young man was now starting to hear the rain falling on the roof as it got heavier, and since that was about everything written about the Wind Fish in that book, he decided to try another one. But this attempt to read the third book was interrupted yet again, this time by the sound of something heavy slamming into the closed door.

At first Link thought that it was a tree branch or something that had gotten swept up in the intensifying wind and rain, but then the door shook again, this time more lightly, and there were… some kinds of sounds mixed in with the rattling and the rain. Almost sounded like a grunt or something growling, maybe an animal scratching at the door in an attempt to get out of the rain, but then another growl joined in… and now they were… arguing in hushed voices?

"Hello?" The young man called, getting to his feet. "Is someone there?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tone of the growling voices changed to being startled, and then they were just gone, like whoever it was had run from the door to avoid getting caught. Well, that was about the most suspicious thing that Link had seen since washing up on the island, so he picked up the lantern and headed toward the door to investigate. Was it any of his business? Probably not, but he _was_ a trained guard, and after all the hospitality the people of Mabe Village had shown him, the least the young man could do was stop a crime from happening… if that was even the case.

Walking over to the door and pushing it open, the young man didn't see anyone there as he held up the lantern, but there were some tracks in the dirt that didn't look like they belonged to an animal. If this were Hyrule, he could have identified those prints right away, but so far there weren't many things in common with his home, so keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword, Link headed out into the rain. It wasn't storming or anything, just a heavy sprinkle really, with the wind making it feel worse than it was, but then he discovered the source of the voices, and was shocked at what he saw.

"It supposed to be right here… somewhere." The first creature said, appearing to get frustrated. "You know map, where is house of Meow lady?"

"Me not know map, _you_ know map." The other one replied. "Better find Meow lady fast or Captain be angry."

Link couldn't believe it… they were _Moblins_. Yes, Moblins, just like the ones in Hyrule, walking around barefoot with a kind of light armored shirt, and carrying spears… so some things here _were_ similar to home after all. The stocky dog-like creatures were bickering back and forth so much that they didn't appear to notice the young man at all, even with the lantern illuminating his body for the whole world to see. Technically they hadn't done anything wrong… yet… but Moblins were known for causing all kinds of trouble in Hyrule, so why should they be any different here?

"Good evening, boys." Link said confidently while walking up to them. "What's your business here in the village?"

During training, the young man had been taught that while questioning suspicious characters, to keep his hand on his sword without drawing it, and to speak in an assertive tone without getting overly aggressive. This posture helped to show that the guards were in charge without appearing jumpy or afraid, and it worked perfectly on the Moblins. The stocky creatures began to talk over each other, stumbling over their words while trying to hastily build a cover story, but at least they hadn't readied their spears yet.

"Now, people might get the wrong idea, you walking around at night with those spears." The young man continued, stepping a little bit closer. "So to clear things up, I'll ask you again… what is your business here in the village, and what do you want with the, uh… did you call her the Meow…

Suddenly Link saw a flash of white as something struck him hard in the side of the head, hard enough to throw him sideways where he fell into the mud. The lantern fell from his grip at some point, leaving the young man in total darkness as he scrambled to his feet and started to draw his sword… only to feel a big hand grab his arm, forcing the blade back down into its sheath. All he could see in front of him was the barely visible darkened outline of something that looked like a Moblin, but it was _huge_; a lot taller and larger built than he was, growling angrily while looking down at him.

"Mind… own… business." Its deep voice said calmly, lifting him up by the arms. "You… live… longer."

The figure then raised its leg, kicking Link in the chest as it let go of his arms, sending the young man flying right through the door of the library. Rolling and bouncing his way across the dusty floor, he came to a stop hard against the bottom of a bookcase, and was just starting to get up to go after the Moblins and their big friend… when the whole bookcase fell over on top of him.


	8. Chapter 8 A Missing Bow-Wow

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Eight: A Missing Bow-Wow**

_I never had trouble dealing with Moblins, most guards didn't after being properly trained, at least as long as the little pests didn't lure them into an ambush, but I had never expected to see one that was that was bigger than me. Sometimes I tell myself that if that bookcase hadn't fallen on top of me, I could've stopped the Moblins from carrying out their business in the village, but that big one, the Captain they had called him, I don't think I could have fought him off after taking that kick… either way, the bookcase knocked me out, and the sun was rising by the time my eyes opened again._

With his chest still a little sore from getting kicked across the room last night, and his head throbbing a little from the bookcase's sneak attack, Link slowly pushed open the library's front door to find that it was still raining. Although the sun was up, there was a thick, dark gray overcast that made the landscape a nowhere near as bright as it had been yesterday, and the falling rain had made the grass slippery while all of the dirt became mud. No signs of the Moblins, though, not that the young man could've really expected them to hang around after what happened.

The lantern was still lying where it had fallen, although long put-out by the rain over the course of the night, but… what the hell did Moblins want from a place like Mabe Village? Usually the little dog-like creatures only risked attacking lone travelers along the road, or maybe a village if there was something really valuable, and except for the Full Moon Cello… oh shit, the _Full Moon Cello_! Nearly slipping and falling down in the mud as he started running, Link was only just barely able to keep his balance as he made his way back to Marin and Tarin's house.

Dropping to his knees and looking under the big man's bed, the young man let out a loud sigh of relief when he saw that the reclaimed instrument was still there, but just then the door opened, forcing Link to jump up to his feet just as the owners of the house came in. Marin and her father were nice enough people, but he wasn't sure how they would react if they found out that one of the most precious artifacts on the island was under the bed… but thankfully their minds seemed to be on other things at the moment.

"Oh Link, it's _horrible_!" The young woman exclaimed, sounding like she was about to cry while throwing her arms around him. "Haven't you heard?! They came in the night, and they… and they… oh, poor Madam Meow-Meow!"

"It was those things from the forest, I tell ya." Tarin grumbled, folding his arms. "I seen'em wandering around, getting a little closer to the village each time… this wouldn't have happened if Prince Richard did somethin' about those things when we first complained."

This conversation caused Link to bring up several questions, beginning with who this Prince Richard was, and apparently he was the Lord of Koholint Island. There had been a large castle at the center of the island's map that he saw, and this was presumably where the Prince lived… one more person the young man would be able to ask about Agahnim and the last castaway once there was time. This brought him back to the Moblins, specifically asking the big man where he had seen them in the forest, and what they had done to Madam, uh… Meow-Meow?

She was crying at this point from being so upset, but Link didn't mind hugging the young woman and comforting her while her father explained that the little creatures had broken into her property and stolen something called a _Bow-wow_. All right, maybe it would just be easier for him to go over to the scene of the crime with Tarin and have Madam Meow-Meow… was that really her name? Anyway, have _her_ explain what happened. Man, who would've thought that after leaving Hyrule so that he didn't have to be a town guard, that Link would end up having to act as one in this place?

Marin had come along as well, wanting to do anything she could to help get Bow-wow back, so after walking through the rain again the three of them ended up at the house of Madam Meow-Meow. She was about as old as his mother, with dark hair that was rapidly going gray, and appeared to live alone since the only furniture visible in her home was a small bed, one chair, and a large sort of makeshift bed that Link assumed was for the missing Bow-wow… fine, apparently it was her pet, but why would Moblins want to steal that? Madam Meow-Meow didn't appear to be rich or anything.

Seeing the woman sitting there all alone in this house also made Link think of his own mother, and how terribly he missed her, even though it had only been a short time since he left Hyrule. Well, his mother wasn't exactly alone, either; Link Senior was there, as was his brother and Agahnim's sister, since the pair were literally inseparable… maybe the young man was feeling this way because after everything was said and done, it was _him_ who had ended up alone.

"I heard them break open the door, and my Bow-wow was just _gone_!" The woman wailed, blowing her nose into a handkerchief. "My precious little baby is out there with those monsters, all alone… _he's all alone_!"

"Don't cry, Madam Meow-Meow." Marin said, trying to be reassuring without crying again herself. "Link used to be a guard where he came from, so he can find your baby… you can do it, can't you, Link?"

The honest answer was that no, the young man had absolutely no idea how to track down a bunch of Moblins through an unfamiliar forest, especially since the rain probably washed away their tracks… but when the young woman looked up at him with those big, sad eyes, pleading with him to help find the lost pet… the answer that came out of his mouth was _yes_. Sure, why not? After all, Link was already searching for his best friend and some missing castaway, on top of collecting musical instruments for an owl that he didn't even like… so why shouldn't he add _find this woman's pet_ onto the stack?

Marin hugged him again after answering, and now Madam Meow-Meow was looking more hopeful as well, but… how in the hell was he going to find the Moblins again in the first place? Faced with disappointing both of them, which was actually worse than just admitting that he didn't know what to do, Link's salvation came when Tarin volunteered to go with him, since the big man had already seen where the little creatures had been gathering. The young man wanted to hug him right there, but instead remained calm while saying that having a guide would definitely make the search go faster, and everyone seemed to agree.

The young woman was so happy about this that she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and by the time that Link's thoughts recovered enough for him to become aware of his surroundings, he was suddenly following Tarin toward the north edge of town. His mother had told him that when starting the quest to save Princess Zelda, his father had some kind of magical compass that pointed him constantly in the right direction, but even better than that, the young man had _Marin's Dad_… a man who seemed surprised by the rain, and didn't even bother trying to find some kind of weapon before tracking down Moblins.

Some distant thunder rumbled across the sky as the rain just kept coming, but thankfully the lush canopy of leaves protected them from most of it as soon as they passed the tree line into the forest. Only thing was, that it was _dark_, like almost as if the sun had gone down. There was slightly more light than that, allowing the young man to see the dim outline of trails and pathways curving around the larger trees, but without the lantern there was just no way to even see where they were going, let alone find Madam Meow-Meow's missing pet.

"You're gonna want to stay close." Tarin said, lighting up the freshly dried lantern, which illuminated a small area around them. "When I was a boy, the forest was completely safe, but ever since those Moblins started skulking around, it's hard to even gather mushrooms in broad daylight."

Unlike the open area outside the library, the close proximity of the leaves and trees around them was actually causing the flickering orange light to reflect, thereby illuminating a slightly larger area. It was good that the big man was holding the lantern, since it left Link's hands free to wield his sword and shield in case they were ambushed, but when the young man asked him about where the Moblins had come from, he insisted that they must've come from some other part of the island, even though no one had ever seen them before a few years ago.

"I think they might have come from Hyrule, like I did." Link continued as they slowly navigated down a path. "After we find, uh… Bow-wow, I was wondering if you could help me track down the last person who was shipwrecked here, more than ten years ago. I'm hoping that he either has a map of the seas or…

"Now son, I need you to just stop right there." The big man said, suddenly turning back to face him. "Look, I know you're sweet on my Marin, and that's fine, she's grown, but don't be fillin' her head with that nonsense about other places out in the water. We both know you were born right here on Koholint like the rest of us, so take some advice from someone who knows a thing or two about women, and just be honest with her… now let's go find Bow-wow."

_Nonsense about other places out in the water?_ Those words echoed throughout the young man's mind as he continued to follow Tarin down the path… how could he believe that there weren't any other places out there? Was it possible that Koholint was so small and isolated from the rest of the world that the people there really did think that they were alone? If so, then how did they explain the Moblins suddenly appearing years ago like he said? Or how no one on such a tiny island had ever seen Link before?

It seemed that with Koholint Island, every time one of the young man's questions got answered, three more just popped up in its place… yes, Link was going to find Bow-wow and all that, but once the _precious baby_ was returned to its owner, the young man was going to start doing some serious digging into what exactly was going on around him.


	9. Chapter 9 Moblins in the Forest

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Nine: Moblins in the Forest**

_As I followed Tarin deeper into the forest, I kept repeating in my head what he had told me, about how any talk about places beyond Koholint Island was nonsense, and that should have been a serious hint to me. If only I had the benefit of such hindsight in my youth, things might have turned out differently, but when you are faced with a brand new situation, lost and confused, well… sometimes you find yourself in the middle of a wet and dark forest, trying to impress a pretty girl by saving someone's lost pet._

As with many of the island's features that Link had discovered, the forest was a lot bigger than he imagined, and it was a good thing that he brought Marin's father along, because the young man surely would have gotten lost without him. Even with the dim orange glow of the lantern, and the canopy of leaves up above blocking most of the falling rain, he still got smacked in the face by more than a few branches, and all of the curving paths looked the same, to the point where Link didn't even know if he could find the way back to Mabe Village from there on his own.

There were a few landmark features that they passed by, such as a small pond, and even a small clearing where the mushrooms were growing out of the ground like crazy… this must've been the place where Marin went to gather them. With no leaves up above in the clearing, the now pouring rain came down on his head mercilessly, leaving the young man completely soaked even though it had only taken less than a minute to get back into the trees. By some miracle the lantern hadn't gone out, but then after following the next curving path, the big man suddenly placed it on the ground behind a large tree.

"What's wrong?" Link whispered, getting closer to him. "Why are we stopping?"

"Shhh, get down." Tarin warned quietly, motioning with his hand. "Look over there."

He was already soaking wet, so it was no problem for the young man to get down on his hands and knees, but then he looked underneath the branches up ahead, and was surprised to see a light. Flickering and yellow, the lighted torch hissed briefly each time a rain drop fell onto it, but the torch itself wasn't what concerned Link… it was the Moblin that was holding it. With its spear in one hand and the torch in the other, the stocky dog-like creature snorted and huffed, looking back and forth at everything it could see in the yellow light's limited range… and this creature wasn't alone.

There were a total of three of them, with two others sitting comfortably in what looked like the hollow trunk of a big fallen tree, while their companion was forced to stand in the rain. It was easy for Link to figure out that they were a team of guards, especially when one of the others switched with the torch holder a few minutes later, but the important question was what they were guarding. With only the lantern and the torch, the young man couldn't really see anything beyond the fallen tree trunk the others were sitting in, but… hey, maybe that was it.

During his father's stories, Link remembered hearing about a large den of thieves in the Eastern Forest, where the entrance was actually hidden by some branches from a fallen tree or something like that, so was it possible that the tree trunk was the entrance to the Moblins' hideout? If so, then locating the creatures was going to be a lot easier than the young man thought, but now was not the time to make his presence known. After all, he had no idea how many of them were in there, not to mention the Captain… Link's chest hurt for a second as he remembered taking that kick last night.

"I have an idea, Tarin." He whispered, still watching carefully how the guards moved. "How well do you know this forest? Better than them?"

"Son, I was walkin' this forest before your father could spell his name." The big man replied. "Just tell me what you need, and we'll make it happen."

Ignoring the comment about his father, especially since Link Senior had been illiterate until he was almost eighteen, the young man laid out a simple plan for distracting the guards. I mean, it was about as basic as you could get; Tarin making a lot of noise to draw them away while Link snuck inside and tried to rescue Bow-wow… yes, incredibly simple, but so were the minds of Moblins, so why shouldn't it work? Of course, it also meant that the big man had to take the lantern with him, but… hopefully there was light back inside wherever the tree trunk led.

So the plan was put into motion, with Tarin circling around to where he could make noise without being seen by the Moblins, and then starting to yell like an idiot. The creatures didn't need to chase him for long, all three of them just needed to be away from the fallen tree trunk long enough for Link to get inside, and then they could return to their post without ever knowing that something was wrong. The young man was certain that something would go wrong, like the big man getting captured or the Moblins noticing him, but surprisingly everything was going just fine.

As soon as Tarin made noise, all three of the stocky creatures took off over there to investigate, allowing Link a clear path to come out of hiding himself, and enter the fallen tree trunk. Okay, one thing went wrong, and that was when he bumped his head by walking right into the side of the entrance, but without the lantern and torch, it was very dark in the forest all of a sudden. The young man supposed that he was lucky to have found the entrance at all, but even with the slight bump on his head, at least now he was out of the rain as he followed the tunnel.

So far it looked like his suspicions were correct, because soon the tree trunk ended, and now Link found himself inside of a place that looked like it could have once been the start of a mine, with its interior made of dirt and rocks that were held up with wooden beams. Everything smelled like dirt and damn wood, even more so now that it was raining outside, but there were torches mounted on some of the beams, illuminating the whole chamber with flickering yellow light.

"No time for arguing!" A deep voice yelled from farther inside the hideout. "Guards keep watch on animal… no one allowed in swamp until crisis is over!"

In response to this yelling, a dozen more voices began to show their displeasure, revealing that some kind of meeting of the Moblins was happening in the large chamber that was just around the next turn of the tunnel. The Captain was easy to recognize, since he was easily the largest creature in the room, and standing all around were the others, all jumping up and down and yelling angrily, while a couple of them were off to the far side of the room, standing guard next to some kind of cage door. Clearly this was where they were keeping the missing Bow-wow… maybe… but how the hell was he going to get past all those Moblins?

"Silence!" The Captain ordered, grabbing an object that was hanging around his neck. "I am Captain, you will obey!"

The object hanging on the chain around his neck was actually in two parts, a metal triangle that was a strange color, and an attached striker. When the Captain hit them together, a barely visible distortion spread out from the triangle in all directions, causing all of the other Moblins and even Link to hold their heads in pain as they stumbled and fell to the floor. Still, through the pain as the large creature kept hitting the instrument, there was something else, almost as if at the same time that triangle was making the same music that had drawn him to the Full Moon Cello.

"Said… _me_… am… _Captain_." The Captain continued after stopping the noise. "Great One gave _me_ Coral Triangle, said _me_ take charge and watch forest, and… and _me_ stop intruders who don't learn lesson first time. Grab him!"

Link hadn't noticed until right then, but when the Coral Triangle was played, not only had he fallen over like the others, but he had done so after stumbling his way into the chamber in plain sight. The young man was still a little disoriented from the triangle, but so were the smaller Moblins, giving him the time he needed to get up and draw his sword, plunging it into the chest of the first of them. Nearly stumbling back and falling himself as he pulled the blade back out, Link swung his small shield right into the face of the next Moblin, knocking it down, but the third one swung its spear at him like a club.

_Whack_! The head of the spear missed him, but the wooden handle went across Link's head so hard that it almost broke in half, resulting in the Moblins letting out a cheer before the young man even realized that he was lying on the ground. The dog-like creatures swarmed him next, pulling the sword and shield from his hands, and then dragging him by the arms over to where the Captain was eagerly waiting. The young man expected to be hit or even killed right there, but instead the large creature used the Coral Triangle again, causing Link and the other Moblins to collapse again.

"So is true." The Captain said angrily once he stopped. "You, outsider, trying to steal siren instruments, but you not get into swamp without Bow-wow, and me _die_ before you get Coral Triangle."

As soon as the world around him stopped distorting, and he was able to move again, Link grabbed his sword and shield from the slowly recovering Moblins, before scrambling to his feet. The young man backed away while keeping his weapons raised in a defensive posture, since the creatures were no doubt going to attack him again as soon as they could, only this time they didn't. In fact, all of the smaller Moblins were scurrying away to both sides of the chamber, while the Captain… while the Captain picked up a proportionately large spear.

"On second thought, me change mind." The large creature growled, pointing the weapon at him. "_You_ die before you get Coral Triangle."


	10. Chapter 10 The Coral Triangle

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Ten: The Coral Triangle**

_This was another of those times that I wish I could say I was fearless, boldly facing off against the Moblin Captain while its minions cheered, but the truth is that I was afraid. As a town guard in Hyrule, I hadn't spent years facing down legendary foes such as Ganondorf and Barba like my father had done... in fact, this was the first time that I was forced to stand and fight such an opponent on my own… and it was also the first time that I started to understand why my father didn't still hunger for adventure after having two of his own._

With his head still hurting from the blow from the smaller Moblin's spear, Link struggled to keep completely focused on the much larger enemy in front of him. Running away like he had done in the Tail Cave wasn't an option this time, since he needed to both rescue Bow-wow and recover the Coral Triangle, and there wasn't an obvious way to trap or disable the Captain. The young man also had a feeling that if he were to run away, all of the smaller creatures would chase him down, and without the lantern to see in the darkness, that chase would probably be a short one.

_Whoosh_! Ducking down as the Captain swung its spear, the weapon went right over Link's head, but the Moblin was still fast enough to block when the young man swung his sword upon coming back up. For such a large and stocky creature, the Captain was surprisingly agile, able to side step to keep Link from getting behind him when he tried to circle around, and if he didn't have that small shield, he might have lost his arm during the next attack when the spear was brought down hard.

Even though the shield stopped him from getting hurt, there was more than enough force behind the blow to knock the young man off his feet, but there was no time to recover, since Link had to immediately roll to the side in order avoid being stabbed. As soon as the spear sunk into the hard ground, an opening presented itself, so the young man swung his blade while rolling, causing the Captain to hiss with pain when the tip slid across its ribs. The Moblin took a step backwards, looking down at the small wound while Link got to his feet… and then the large creature gritted its teeth with anger.

There was no time for him to react to what happened next; the Captain suddenly dropping its spear and charging at the young man like a wild animal, crouching down and ramming into him with its shoulder hard enough to drive him back into the wall. The wind was knocked out of him by the pressing force of being rammed like that, and then the Moblin grabbed him by the shirt with one hand and tossed the young man across the chamber like he weighed nothing.

Although scattering in order to stay out of the way, the smaller creatures continued cheering as Link crashed into the ground hard enough to slide a short distance, but the Captain's rampage was not over just yet. Link was struggling to get up again, and had only just realized that his sword was no longer in his hand, when the Moblin came charging toward him. In a defensive move, the young man swung his shield, but this did nothing to stop the next hit even though the metal surface struck the large creature right in the face.

Flying backwards yet again, Link was starting to realize that this enemy might be _just a little bit_ out of his league, right about the time he rolled and bounced his way up against the cage door that he had seen earlier. Coughing as he grabbed onto the bars to try getting up again, and seeing double from the hits he had taken, the young man lost his grip on the bar, causing him to fall back down… but this is actually what ended up saving him from the Captain's next attack.

When he fell down, the Moblin rammed into the cage door at full speed, and with all of its strength behind an attack that was probably meant to finish Link off, instead the large creature found itself falling on its face after knocking the cage door completely off its hinges. Facing the opposite way from where he was lying on the ground, the young man was unable to see what was happening inside the cage, but he got the idea when the smaller creatures stopped cheering, instead getting horrified looks on their faces when the Captain's scream was suddenly drowned out by what sounded like… barking?

Link tried to roll over to see what was happening, but then something big, as in _bigger than the Captain_, jumped over him, causing the smaller Moblins to scatter as it headed right toward them. Now, the young man admittedly hadn't seen that much of a variety of the, uh… stranger creatures of the world, but this… creature was a bit hard to comprehend. Looking like a massive black ball, with big white eyes and a… maw filled with sharp teeth, this thing was easily able to swallow a Moblin whole while dragging its… chain-like tail behind it.

Taking a look back into the cage as he again tried to pull himself up to his knees, Link had to look away to avoid getting sick after seeing what remained of the Captain, and the smaller creatures weren't doing much better. It looked like the creature had been recently wearing a muzzle, but it must've gotten knocked off when the cage door fell down or something, because this thing was gobbling down Moblins one after another, and… was it possible that this thing was Bow-wow? If so, then why in the world would _anyone_ want to steal such a creature… or even keep it as a pet?

Most of the Moblins ran away, while a few tried to fight it off with their spears, but it all ended up the same way… with the smaller creatures nearly getting swallowed whole. Once all of the Moblins had either been eaten or fled into the forest, the big creature turned and came bouncing its way right toward Link, and he thought he was done for, closing his eyes tight and waiting to feel those big teeth coming down… but instead what the young man felt was a tongue. A big, prickly tongue that dragged up his entire body, before the big creature started bouncing around him while… barking like an excited puppy?

"You… you really _are_ Bow-wow." Link said, kind of absent mindedly patting the thing on top of the head. "So, I guess we, uh… should… get you home?"

Bouncing again while yipping excitedly, Bow-wow pushed its chain-like tail toward the young man's hands as if it were a kind of leash, but that was when he remembered about the Coral Triangle. According to the Captain, it was another Instrument of the Sirens, and there was no way he was going to leave there without it, since apparently the owl had been correct that people were willing to kill over them. So Link kind of looked away from the remains while picking up the triangle, and since he wasn't as big as the Captain, the young man had to put the whole thing around his neck instead of wearing it on that rope like a necklace.

"All right, uh… boy." He said, taking hold of the chain tail. "You ready to go home?"

Barking again happily before licking him again, Bow-wow led the way, and at first everything was going fine as they went back through the fallen tree trunk, and into the rainy forest. Still night time, and still raining just as hard, there was no sign of Tarin or the lantern, but it was funny… after moving out of the torchlight, somehow the young man could still see a small area around himself. The light was pale, and just enough to barely make out the trees and branches that were in the way, but where was it coming from.

It was mostly in front of him where the light was shining, not really to the sides or behind, making him think at first that the light was coming from Bow-wow, but then he realized that it wasn't. The light was coming from the subtle glow of the Coral Triangle around his neck, making the young man wonder if maybe the Full Moon Cello glowed too, and he just hadn't noticed it during the daytime. Oh well, with the glow, and knowing the general direction of Mabe Village from there, getting back shouldn't have been too hard… at least not until Bow-wow nearly pulled him off his feet while taking off in the wrong direction.

"No, down boy, uh… _heel_!" Link exclaimed, trying to keep his balance while being dragged and hit with small branches along the way. "Home's the other way… aren't dogs supposed to know the way home?!"

Making its way down a couple different paths, but continuing in the same direction, the young man tried in vain to pull the creature back, but then noticed how soft the ground was starting to get under his feet. Now only soft, but there was more and more water, causing his boots to get stuck a little with each step. Now the trees thinned out to the point where Link was pulled out of the forest, once again feeling the full force of the falling rain, while ankle deep in standing water like… like he had been led right into a swamp.

_Splosh-splosh-splosh_, the big creature pulled him a little ways farther into the swamp, where all the young man could see around him was randomly placed dead trees and shallow water, but then the whole way forward was blocked by what looked like a wall of very sharp thorns on thick branches that was just growing right out of the swamp. Oh well, apparently they couldn't keep going, but once again Bow-wow surprised him by leaping forward and taking a big bite out of them.

With even more hunger than when going after the Moblins, the big creature tore into the thorny plants, devouring them as if it were a rare treat, and opening the way forward. Of course, Link didn't want to go stomping his way through a swamp, he wanted to get Bow-wow back to the village so that Marin would think he was a hero and give him another kiss on the cheek… but just as he was turning away to go return the big creature to Madam Meow-meow, the young man had to stop when he heard, mixed subtly in with the rain and the moving water, that same soft music he heard coming from the Tail Cave.

Did that mean there was another Instrument of the Sirens somewhere up ahead in the swamp? Part of him wanted to forget about it, and take what he had won from the Moblins back to Mabe Village, but then again the owl was so adamant about finding the instruments so that he could wake the Wind Fish… whatever it actually was, and honestly Link didn't know if he would be able to find this place again on his own. Now that it had eaten, Bow-wow didn't seem to have an opinion on where they should go, so after taking a deep breath and making his decision, the young man continued onward into the swamp.


	11. Chapter 11 A Hidden Grotto

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Eleven: A Hidden Grotto**

_One thing that all of the stories I used to hear about my father's adventures had in common, was that they made sense. By that I mean that even in the wildest parts, where the most bizarre things happened to him, all of it could be explained by sorcery, or local legends, or something, but Koholint Island… that place was just something else entirely. Looking back on it all, now that I understand everything, it should have been pretty obvious to me, but it was not obvious at all while I was there, trudging my way through the swamp toward the source of the music._

Without many features of the swamp to look at, aside from more dead trees and the occasional thorns that Bow-wow made short work of, the walk toward the soft music was pretty unobstructed, as long as one didn't count the rain. Without the forest's canopy to block the falling water, Link was completely soaked again in a matter of minutes, and this big, flat, open swamp just seemed to keep on going. Eventually it came to an end, but only after traveling so far north that the wall of rocks that suddenly appeared in the instrument's glow was probably the start of the mountains he had seen on the map.

At first the young man thought that he was going to have to do some climbing, but that was when he noticed the opening in the rocks; not a wind-worn entrance like the Tail Cave, but just a large crack that seemed to have been forced open at some point. That music continued for a second, but then stopped, as if giving Link just enough to let him know where it was coming from. After what happened in both the Tail Cave and the Moblins' Den, the young man was a little apprehensive about going inside, but then again his circumstances had changed a lot since then.

Whereas Link had been unarmed in the Tail Cave, now not only did he have a sword and the light from the Coral Triangle, but Bow-wow had proven to be pretty handy in a fight as well. It was certainly a risk, but he was feeling better about his chances, so after taking another moment to decide, Link decided to head in. The crack in the mountain was wide enough for both Link and the big creature to fit through easily, and he expected to find a neatly carved out sanctuary like where the cello was hidden, but this was not the case.

Instead of nearly carved stone, it looked like the original crack that formed the opening in the mountain had just kept going, branching off into different directions until it had formed a labyrinth of jagged walls, but without the little holes in the ceiling to let light in, not that those would have helped right now anyways. Like the rest of the swamp, there were a few inches of water on the ground, but this place did have a single thing in common with the Tail Cave, and that was the remains of creatures that had been burned a long time ago.

The skeletal remains on the ground with the scorch marks on the rocks behind them were exactly the same as the others, only this time they weren't those spiked turtle/beetle things… instead, they looked kind of like big rabbits, but with small rounded bodies and oversized ears. Since the remains were so old and degraded, it was hard to tell anything else about them, but after what those spiked turtles had done to his foot, the young man hoped that Bow-wow would like to eat any of those that had survived… whatever happened to the creatures in the first place.

Had the last castaway already gone through these places all those years ago? If so, then he must have been powerful in order to just walk through and destroy all those creatures in both areas, but if that was the case, then why had he stopped before collecting the instruments? Maybe he had run into creatures like the Moblin Captain and gotten scared off, or maybe the bigger creatures guarding the instruments were too much for him. Instead of individual rooms, the crack in the mountain made it out to be like one single lengthy tunnel, and…

"_What are you doing here_?!" A voice suddenly demanded. "_Get out_!"

Startling him, Link turned around, looking in all directions, but the voice had been echoing, and there was no way to tell where it came from, especially since the only light came from his triangle. But there was really only one way ahead, so it wasn't like the owner of the voice could sneak up on him. So the young man kept going, keeping Bow-wow close as he kept sloshing his way down the tunnel, at first having been glad that this place was a single tunnel instead of the multiple rooms of the Tail Cave, but now wishing that there was more to look at.

"_Hey, are you deaf?!_" That same voice echoed. "_I said get lost, kid, there's nothing for you here!_"

Link wasn't going anywhere, especially since the unseen owner of the voice was clearly scared of being discovered, meaning that there might not be a monster like last time. Hell, even if there was, Bow-wow was a monster eating machine, so the young man ignored the warnings and continued around the next curve of the tunnel. More of those big-eared remains were found throughout, as if this hidden grotto had once been their nest, but they had all been burned, and not even the water along the floor had been able to save them.

"_Kid, you're really starting to piss me off, you know that?!_" The voice from nowhere called out again, this time in a much more threatening tone. "_So you can either turn around and get out of here right now, or you're never get another chance_."

This time Link stopped, hesitating because of the voice's threatening nature, but no, he wasn't about to turn back after walking all the way there through the swamp during a rain storm, so again the young man kept going. Around another curve, this time in the opposite direction, the tunnel finally came to an abrupt end, and then there was just nothing. This was apparently as far as the crack had gotten, and after everything Link had been through, his reward was seeing the two unique features of this place: The burned remains of a much larger big-eared creature, and a very large bottle of some kind that was just sitting there.

No doors, no hidden sanctuary, just a long linear tunnel with no other features besides being flooded and annoying, but most notably no Instrument of the Sirens. Wait a second, no… something was happening with the bottle, the top was open and a bunch of red smoke was coming out. At first the young man thought it was a trap of some kind that he had sprung, but instead of filling the whole chamber, the red smoke only came out far enough to form some kind of creature… or at least the top half of it floating there while the bottom was… part of the smoke?

Honestly, this thing looked like an overweight clown with white gloves and a really long tongue, something ridiculous like the kind of performers that would be found at a carnival in Hyrule during the holidays, but nowhere near as entertaining. In fact, this thing was downright scary, but if it was aggressive, Link was sure that he could handle anything with Bow-wow's help. The clown creature didn't seem worried, though, in fact he seemed more annoyed by their presence than anything.

"I told you to leave, kid." The creature explained, shaking his head. "You could've just walked away, and I would've pretended that I never saw you, but now that I know you're trying to wake the Wind Fish… it's too bad, you don't seem like a bad guy, but I have to kill you now."

"No, you really don't." Link replied, pointing his finger. "Bow-wow, get him!"

Without hesitation the big creature leapt toward the floating clown, but then the clown snapped his fingers, and Bow-wow just disappeared. Vanishing in a small cloud of red smoke, Madam Meow-meow's pet was just _gone_, and the floating creature laughed at the shocked expression that was now on the young man's face. Watching him make such a large and powerful creature simply vanish was one of the most intimidating things that the young man had ever seen, but that didn't mean he was going to just stand there and allow it to happen to him as well.

Now that his hands were free, Link drew his sword, and swung the blade, but it just passed right through the smokey lower half of the creature as if it were just that, smoke. As for the top half, the visible part of the clown backed off a little, before gathering some of the red smoke in his hand, and tossing it like a fireball. There was no fire or anything, just pure force that made it feel like a rock slammed into the small shield, but not quite as strong as the Moblin Captain, so the young man remained on his feet… barely.

"What did you do to Bow-wow!?" Link demanded, shaking off the stinging sensation in his arm. "Answer me!"

"Don't worry, the mutt's fine." The clown replied, laughing a little, gathering some more red smoke. "But between you and me, kid, this is probably the time to worry about yourself."

The floating creature tossed the smoke, but this time the young man ducked under it, coming forward and swinging his sword at the clown's top half, and managing to hit one of its arms, but only managing to make even more red smoke come out for the two seconds before the wound healed. His blade was all he had right now, though, so he didn't back off, swinging the sword again and again, but causing absolutely no damage at all to the floating creature. In fact, the clown started laughing at him, no longer trying to avoid the sword hits, until one time during a powerful swing where the blade struck the edge of the bottle.

Even though the bottle was barely touched, the floating creature suddenly became a lot more serious, the grin vanishing from his face as he snapped his fingers, causing a ring of red smoke to form around Link just above his elbows, and then pinning his arms to his side when it constricted. Now unable to move or defend himself beyond flailing the sword uselessly a bit, there was nothing the young man could do when another ball of red smoke was slammed into his chest, throwing him across the room to where he slid to a stop against the wall.

"It's not your fault, kid, I know the owl sent you." The clown continued, holding up both arms while even more red smoke gathered. "But you see… the Wind Fish really needs to stay asleep, and my orders are to kill anyone who tried to get the Conch Horn, so… goodbye, kid."


	12. Chapter 12 The Conch Horn

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twelve: The Conch Horn**

_So there I was, down in the swamp's hidden grotto, having lost Bow-wow, and faced against an enemy that my sword couldn't hurt. Well, it didn't take a genius to figure out that I should have been attacking the thing's bottle the entire time, but it was a little late to come to that conclusion, being that my arms were tied down. Did you ever have a moment, though, when you were so fatigued and frustrated that you couldn't see the obvious solution that was right under your nose? I had one of those moments right then, lying in the murky shallow water while my enemy prepared to crush my body, when I remembered the other thing I was carrying._

Struggling to free his arms from the constricting rings of red smoke, Link got nowhere as the clown gathered more and more smoke above his head, preparing to throw it down on him like a boulder, making the young man wish that the light of the Coral Triangle didn't allow him to see what was about to… wait a second… that's right, he was still wearing the _Coral Triangle_ around his neck! With less than seconds to spare before the floating creature would have crushed him, Link used his arms' limited motion to grab the striker, and then everything in front of him distorted when the young man began to hit the triangle.

Just like when the Moblin Captain had done so, Link was safe while the clown screamed, covering his ears while the gathered smoke vanished, and then the thing quickly retreated down into the bottle. As soon as it was gone, the ring around his arms vanished, but there probably wasn't much time before the floating creature recovered after he stopped hitting the instrument, so as fast as he could, the young man raised up his blade and brought it down onto the bottle with all his might.

_SMASH_! A large amount of red energy was released as soon as his sword made contact, knocking Link back down while the bottle's outer covering was completely shattered, and he wasn't sure, but… it sounded like a scream was mixed in with the small explosion as the last of the red smoke evaporated. Once again the grotto fell silent, with only the glow of the Coral Triangle to let him see anything… wait a second, no, there was another light source now… and it was coming from right where the clown's bottle had been.

The glow from the new object matched the one coming from the triangle, and once the young man got up to his knees in order to look at it, he found himself looking down at a large kind of seashell while he thought he heard that same music playing again for just a second. The clown had been telling the truth, he had been guarding this thing, the uh… Conch Horn, was it? If this was another of the Instruments of the Sirens, then it was his third out of, uh… eight, was it the owl said there were? Anyway, Link had to get out of there and find Bow-wow, so he tucked the horn under his arm, and headed back down the tunnel.

Now that there was no fear or mystery left to this place, the walk back out into the swamp took a lot less time, and he had hoped that the rain had stopped falling by now… it hadn't. Seeming like every time the young man just started to get dried off, he would just get soaked again, so he trudged his way back through the swamp's shallow water, heading away from the hidden grotto, since that was the general direction of the forest, and uh… hopefully with the added light from the Conch Horn, Link would be able to find his way back through the trees to Mabe Village on his own.

Finally, he was able to step out of the water, feeling the ground gradually get harder while making his way toward the tree line, and it was nice to have the canopy of leaves blocking the rain again. Now all he had to do was somehow navigate his way down the twisting paths, but before the young man could even make a decision on which way he wanted to try, there was a rustling in the branches immediately above him. Reflexively looking up and holding the horn so that he could see better, Link was both relieved and disappointed at the same time when he saw that the owl had returned.

"So, you managed to find both the Coral Triangle _and_ the Conch Horn." The animal said, still glaring at him judgmentally. "The Wind Fish has noticed your progress, but I remain skeptical… after all, one can only rely on dumb luck in the absence of skill for so long."

"Dumb luck?!" The young man demanded. "I'll have you know that I've had plenty of training, _years_ of it in fact, so why can't you just admit that I'm doing a good job?"

The owl just stared at him for a second, before bursting out into a mixture of hoots and hysterical laughter, mocking Link's words in a high pitch voice, before reminding him that he could have never beaten the Moblin Captain without the help of Bow-wow, whom he had managed to lose. The animal also reminded him that it was purely by chance that he had originally survived the Tail Cave, not with strategy, and without the aid of the Coral Triangle, the clown in the grotto would have certainly killed him.

"Foolish boy, the Wind Fish isn't the _only one_ whose attention you have drawn." The owl continued. "There are those on this island, those with great power, who will do anything it takes to stop you in your quest to gather the instruments. What you have seen so far are the weaker of their numbers, those left behind when the original guardians were defeated by their leader… and if _he_ discovers what you're up to…

The animal's words trailed off, leaving it just sitting up there silently on the branch for s time, before suddenly instructing Link to hide the instruments and then to keep a _low profile_ for a time. With that, the owl flew off, vanishing up into the trees, and leaving Link to think about the animal's cryptic warning. However, it was still raining, and the young man needed to get back to Mabe Village, so he chose a path and followed it, leaving the thinking for a time when he wasn't soaking wet and exhausted.

It took a while, a lot longer than he cared to admit, actually, but finally after a couple hours of wandering around, tripping over roots, and getting smacked in the face by low hanging branches, Link found himself leaving the tree line once again. This was it, the northern edge of Mabe Village, and… and he was going to have to tell Madam Meow-Meow what happened to her pet. First things first, the Instruments of the Sirens needed to be hidden away, at least on that he and the owl agreed, so the young man made his way to Marin's house, where thankfully no one was home.

A better spot was going to be needed for the rest of the instruments, since the horn and triangle just barely fit under Tarin's bed next to the cello, and now… now he was not looking forward to what was going to happen next. Walking out the door and back into the rain, Link slowly walked toward the house, while trying to think of how he was going to break the news, when something suddenly barked excitedly at him before licking his face with that prickly tongue.

Bow-wow? Without the glow of the instruments, it was a lot harder to see what was happening right in front of him, but eventually the young man was able to figure out that the big creature really _was_ right in front of him. Not only that, but the end of its chain-like tail was tied to a wooden post in the center of the yard. Had the creature simply returned home on its own after the clown made it disappear to… wherever it had been sent? On second thought, who cares? Madam Meow-Meow's pet was home, and now everything was going to be just fine.

These suspicions were proven correct as soon as he walked into the cottage, with Tarin confirming that Bow-wow had shown up a couple hours ago, with everyone assuming that it had escaped while Link was fighting off the Moblins. The young man didn't want to tell them about the grotto, or the instruments for that matter, so he went along with this story, and just like that everyone was happy. Marin gave him a big hug, and Madam Meow-Meow was so happy that she grabbed his face and gave him a kiss… one that felt like her lips were covering most of his face, and left him all sloppy when she finally pulled back.

Damn it, that wasn't the kiss he had been hoping for, but now that everything had been resolved, Link just wanted to go to bed. Of course, Marin wanted to hear all about what happened with the Moblins, and the young man couldn't just tell her not to worry about it, so he gave her a really condensed version that was… exaggerated to put it lightly. In the version Link told her, he had defeated the Moblin Captain single handedly, caring more about Bow-wow's safety than his own, resulting in the young woman giving him another kiss on the cheek.

So after one last walk through the rain, the three of them finally got back to the cottage, where Link was able to sleep on the smaller guest bed… wishing that he was able to have his arms around Marin. Within a few minutes the lanterns were blown out, and the others in the house were snoring, while Link tried to stay awake long enough to go over his plan for tomorrow. It wasn't like he knew where any more of the instruments were located, so he couldn't look for them, but what he could do was look for Tracy.

That name the young man had seen written on the map in the library with a heart drawn around it… this was his best lead for finding the last castaway that washed up on the island all those years ago. Yes, tomorrow morning bright and early, he was going to take one more look at the map of Koholint Island, and then Link would find her. Either that, or he would just build a raft and start paddling his way off the island across the open water… such an undertaking would be extremely dangerous even with calm seas, so that plan would be left as a last resort… man, he really hoped that this Tracy person would be able to help him.


	13. Chapter 13 Crazy Tracy

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Thirteen: Crazy Tracy**

_Up until that point, I had only explored about a quarter of the island, and leaving Mabe Village the next morning to pass through a whole different region made me a little nervous, given what I had already been through. I remember that it was still raining as I headed out, this time walking toward the east so that I could search for the mysterious Tracy, if she was even still around since the map I found in the library was quite old… so into the prairie I went, constantly on guard for the ones the owl had warned me about… the evil forces who would try to stop me from waking the Wind Fish at any cost._

The prairie was different than the forest and the shoreline, consisting of tall grasses and mostly dead trees, with a barely visible path beaten down to lead the way. It looked like someone had spread out a bunch of gravel a long time ago in the attempt to establish a permanent road, but now only a few of the larger rocks were still visible, while grass was pushing its way up between them. One good thing about the unending rain was that the gathering water weighed down a lot of the taller grass, allowing the young man to see more of what was around him, but according to the map… this part of the island was mostly empty.

A few birds cawed at him, larger black birds that were watching Link as he continued on the path, but other than that his path was largely unobstructed. No Moblins, nor any other strange creatures jumped out from behind the dead trees, making the young man wonder if the owl hadn't been exaggerating the importance of the instruments he had collected so far, especially since this easily manageable walk continued on for more than an hour until he came across a wooden sign with a guiding arrow that read:

_CRAZY TRACY'S HEALTH SPA_

_THIS WAY_

Pointing left in an obvious fashion, Link didn't see any reason why he shouldn't follow the sign, since it literally carried the name of the person of the person he was searching for, and the path got a lot more obvious not long after. Stepping onto a well maintained road made of crushed rock like the ones found in Hyrule, there were a couple more signs that kept steering him in a northeast direction, and then it appeared; Crazy Tracy's Health Spa, or at least that was what the big wooden sign on the roof of the cottage as he approached.

Some steam was coming from over on the left side of the cottage, and when he got closer, Link saw that it was coming from what looked like a hot spring, where half a dozen shirtless men were sitting in the water. This was also a common sight in bathhouses in Hyrule, so yes, the young man was pretty well convinced that this place was a health spa, and… and the owner must have lived there as well, since on the other side of the house there were a couple of children playing on a swing that hung from a tree branch.

One of the men in the hot spring noticed him as he got closer, and waved at Link in a friendly fashion, followed by some of the others a moment later, so of course the young man returned the gesture just before he reached the front door. It was unlocked and the latch turned easily, allowing him to get a break from the falling rain as he entered what looked like a shop that could be found in any village. However, the only variety in the items on display was the color of the liquid inside of the many glass bottles.

"Hi there, friend." A friendly voice greeted him. "Welcome to Crazy Tracy's Health Spa; I'm your hostess, Crazy Tracy, and once you see my prices, you'll understand how I got the name."

The overly friendly and cheerful voice came from the… _very_ attractive dark-haired woman sitting next to the counter with her legs crossed. With her hair tied back with an oversized red bow, and a smile that was almost as big, this woman had probably rehearsed that greeting hundreds of times, but it still sounded so genuine that it was hard to resist the urge to buy something. She was just so… _cute_, and maybe only a few years older than Marin, but… but Link wasn't there to make friends… he had come all the way there to find this woman, or at least he hoped that it was her, so it was time to find out what she knew.

"Thank you, this is a, uh… nice place." The young man said, trying not to sound too awkward. "Excuse me, uh… Tracy, but I'm looking for someone, and I was hoping that you could help me."

Negotiation and interrogating suspects hadn't been Link's strongest topics during guard training, but thankfully _Crazy Tracy_ was a professional merchant, who was more than willing to help him out, provided that the young man was willing to try a sample of one of her latest _health potions_. Without warning, the brunette dipped a spoon into a vat of some green liquid next to her, and shoved it into his mouth, causing Link to start coughing and take a step back as the potion went down his throat.

Burning hot, and tasting like dried leaves, the young man's eyes were starting to tear up as he considered running outside to let some rainwater fall into his mouth, but then something happened. All at once, Link's body began to tingle kind of like when he slept on his leg wrong all night, but then the lingering fatigue that he had been feeling since washing up on Koholint Island just… faded away. All of the cuts and injuries he had taken in the Tail Cave, the grotto, and everywhere else was just _gone_ in a matter of seconds, making the young man wish that he had some rupees on him because apparently her potions were the real deal.

When asked how he felt, the young man coughed a little more while trying to say that he honestly never felt better in his life, since he hadn't, but then it was finally his turn to ask questions of someone who might actually know things. So Link started out by introducing himself, and saying that he had recently washed up on the island after his ship got destroyed in a bad storm. He told her about finding the old map at the library in Mabe Village, and that it led him to her health spa, where the young man hoped to find the whereabouts of the last stranger to wash up on the island.

"My, that _was_ a while ago now, wasn't it?" Tracy asked, not losing her cheerful attitude as she leaned on the counter. "Just about twelve years ago, if you're talking about my husband… he was so cute, just washed up on shore like a little piece of driftwood."

"Oh good, you _do_ know him." Link sighed with relief. "I was worried you wouldn't be the same Tracy that was written on the map, but… husband? I'm sorry, but you don't look old enough to be married for… a _decade_."

The brunette giggled, thanking him for the compliment, but assuring the young man that she was not only married to the past person to come from outside the island, but that it was their two children who were playing on the swing outside. Seriously, this woman _barely_ looked any older than Marin, but she insisted that her and the last castaway had a family together, but unfortunately her husband was away on business at another part of the island… and Tracy wasn't sure when he would be back.

"It's really important that I find him." Link continued, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. "There's so much about this place that just doesn't make any sense, and now this ridiculous owl has me running around in circles, and I just want to find my…

"Owl?!" The brunette exclaimed, interrupting him. "No… no, no, no… please, Link, _please_ tell me you're _not_ trying to wake up the Wind Fish."

Apparently, she knew something about that, too, but before the young man could ask any more questions, she cut him off again, telling Link that the best thing he could do was go back to Mabe Village and forget all about it. The owl, the legend of the Siren Instruments, the Wind Fish, all of it was nothing more than a fairy tale, and if the young man valued his life, then he would give up on the whole thing before it was too late. The last piece of advice Tracy gave him was that it anyone else asked him the same questions, he should swear on his life that he wasn't trying to wake the Wind Fish, and then Link got the feeling that it was time for him to go.

Maybe the _crazy_ part of her name wasn't just for the prices, the young man thought after politely telling her goodbye, and then he walked away, stepping back through the door and out into the rain. The shirtless men must've gotten tired of the water, because they were no longer sitting in the hot spring, and… no, the two children were still playing under the tree, only now they were chasing each other around while laughing, and…

"Halt, in the name of the Prince!" A loud voice suddenly ordered. "Drop your weapons and submit to arrest!"

Looking back ahead as soon as he heard the voice, Link's hand instinctively went for his sword, but then he stopped when he saw that a half dozen men had him surrounded… shirtless men who were now pointing very sharp looking sword at him. Looking back over at the hot spring, and noticing for the first time that armor and shields were stacked up against the wall of the cottage, it only now entered the young man's mind that these people had been waiting for him at the health spa… but how would they have known who he was, or… that he was going there at all.

"I repeat, drop your weapons." The leader of the men continued, keeping his sword ready. "Prince Richard, the Lord of all Koholint Island, has ordered that you be brought in to answer for your crimes… or executed if you resist… now drop your sword, or fall with it."

Crimes? What crimes, Link wondered? Whatever the reasons were for this ambush, the young man knew that even with Tracy's potion, he was no match for six armed men at once, so he slowly took the sword from his sheath, and dropped it on the ground. Doing the same with his shield, Link figured that even if he was being taken away for some kind of trial, at least the ruler of this place would probably be able to tell him more than the brunette had… once the misunderstanding was cleared up, that is.

"As of this moment, you are now the prisoner of Prince Richard." The leader said as the others tied his hands. "You are to obey _all _orders given to you by the Royal Guard, and any resistance to such orders or attempts to escape will be considered an admission of guilt, and you _will_ be executed. Now _march_, prisoner."

One of the men stayed behind to gather their armor and shields, while the rest led the young man down the road in a different direction where the ruler of Koholint Island was waiting for him.


	14. Chapter 14 All Hail Prince Richard

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Fourteen: All Hail Prince Richard**

_I suppose that it was my own ignorance that led me to not even consider that Koholint Island had any kind of real government, I mean, I honestly thought that the whole place was just a couple villages out for themselves, and apparently some Moblin tribes. Turns out I was wrong, and not only did the island have a ruler, but he also had it out for me, not that I could figure out why at the time. I should've guessed what it was, but again this is the advantage of hindsight… something that I did not have as the Royal Guard marched me toward the distant towers of Kanalet Castle._

With his wrists bound, and the guards around him, once again wearing their armor and shields, keeping their weapons ready, Link didn't dare make any aggressive or even sudden moves, since he got the feeling their leader hadn't been joking about killing the young man if he resisted. The road they were on traveled through the prairie for a time, but then curved northward again, allowing the landscape to transition to a place with more trees and shorter grass. This was the first time that Link saw the stone towers in the distance, and he started to seriously worry about what was about to happen to him.

Now, being the son of the Lord Sheriff, the young man had met the entire royal family of Hyrule, including King Façade and both Zeldas, but from what he had heard, there were other places in the world where royalty was not so, uh… pleasant. He remembered hearing a tale of Agahnim's grandfather, Carock, the red wizard… a cruel and powerful wizard who had no regard for innocent life and even tried to kill his own son… hopefully Prince Richard was not that kind of ruler.

No matter what kind of ruler the Prince was, Link was soon to find out as the guards marched him up the road to the bridge, stopping at a large, sturdy looking wooden gate to announce their arrival. This bridge looked like the only way for anyone to enter or leave the castle, since the water in the moat below seemed to flow in a circle around the whole… hey, what do you know… the castle sat on a tiny island that was at the center of another island… what would that be called?

Up on top of the stone wall that bordered the castle, another guard appeared, shouting down approval to open the gate as soon as he recognized them, and with a long drawn out creak, the wooden barrier started to swing open. Ordering the young man to move as soon as the path was clear, the guards marched him into the stone courtyard, a place with planted trees and decorative statues of maybe… previous rulers? And then the gate was heard closing again behind them, trapping Link inside as they continued toward the castle's front door.

Some passersby, probably more nobles, pointed to him and whispered as the young man was escorted past, and the same thing happened once they made it into the castle's entrance hall, with servants scurrying out of sight while even more armed guards stood at the ready. Every bit as fancy and lavish as Hyrule's North Palace, this place had shiny marble floors, decorative banners and tapestries hanging on the walls, and wall mounted torches to bring flickering yellow light to the parts of the castle where the small windows were just not enough.

A servant was instructed to notify the Prince that they had arrived with the prisoner, and then the concerned whispers and pointing continued when the young man was brought into the throne room, where there were so many well-dressed Lords and Ladies that for a moment Link wondered if they had interrupted a royal ball of some kind. As soon as they reached the bottom of the small staircase that led up to the empty throne, the leader of the guards pushed the young man down while loudly instructing him to _kneel_, and then a horn was loudly played in order to get everyone's attention.

"Presenting his most regal Majesty!" The herald loudly declared. "The giver of laws, the protector of the innocent, the companion of our greatest hero… the sovereign Lord of Koholint Island, Prince Richard!"

The horn played again, and all of the nobles and guards in the room bowed as a well-dressed man with hair that was almost as well taken care of as King Façade's, walked into the room. He wore a sword on his belt, with a white cape flowing behind him as he walked, and everyone remained bowed down until the Prince sat on the throne. A quick smack to the back of the head from one of the guards convinced Link to bow his head with them, and whereas the throne room had been filled with noise and activity a moment ago, it was now completely silent while everyone looked at the ruler.

On top of how well dressed and important the Prince was trying to look, the other noticeable feature about him was the large golden bell that he wore around his neck like a family heirloom, but Link knew better. For as soon as he laid eyes on the instrument, all other noises in the room seemed to muffle, while that same music played for just a moment, but… how could this person and the Moblin Captain both be in possession of one of the instruments? How much was going on that the owl hadn't told him?

"_This_ is him?" Richard asked, pointing at the young man as if he was skeptical. "Really? This common looking… _boy_ is the reason everyone is so worked up? Ten lashes before we begin."

"What?!" Link exclaimed, startled, and trying to find the words of protest. "You can't…

A sudden punch across the side of the face interrupted the young man's words, and then the guards were dragging him away from the stairs to the throne. Before he realized what was happening, the guards had tied Link's wrists to one of the room's pillars after making him face away from the throne, and this punishment must have been planned before he even got there, because in less than a minute the unmistakable sound of a whip making its way through the air, before crying out loudly when the tail end made contact with his back.

From witnessing the punishments of countless petty criminals, of which flogging was the fastest and most common, the young man knew that getting whipped was painful, but not how much of a difference there was between watching it and the real thing. A lot of criminals, especially repeat offenders, would try to act tough in the face of the Lord Sheriff as some kind of defiance, only to end up screaming in agony by the fifth lash. As much as Link wanted to believe that he was stronger than the common criminal, but the truth was that he was only able to keep his composure for the first two.

The young man's screams of agony echoed throughout the throne room as the whip dragged across his back again and again, ripping his shirt apart, and his efforts to pull away from the pillar ended at about number six when he fell over onto his side, still screaming and getting into a fetal position in a feeble effort to protect himself. Once number ten was called, the guards grabbed him again, dragging Link back to the stairs in front of the throne, and pushing him back to his knees, although he could barely stay up.

"I trust that I have your attention now?" Richard asked, absent-mindedly fiddling with the bell he was wearing. "If you really _are_ the one I've heard about… the boy _Link_, who just _washed up_ on shore one day like a drowned rat… then you are in a lot of trouble. Read the charges against the accused."

Link had no idea who the person was who began reading from a scroll a second later, but apparently the young man had broken a lot of laws without realizing it, or even sometimes understanding how what he had done was even a crime. The first charge against him was consorting with a known enemy of the crown, with that enemy being identified as the talking owl who had been sort of guiding him around the island. The second charge also came as a complete shock, because he was accused of murdering the Captain of the local Moblin tribe, who was somehow an ally of the Prince?

"Lastly, and the most heinous of them all." The man reading the scroll continued. "He is accused of _deliberately_ seeking out the Instruments of the Sirens in order to _intentionally_ wake the Wind Fish from its eternal slumber."

The crowd of nobles gasped in horror after hearing the last charge, but Link still didn't even understand what the Wind Fish really was, and… and he was starting to believe that the people of Koholint Island didn't understand it either. It was like everyone was terrified that the thing was some kind of great beast that would burst out of its egg and devour them whole, or… something like that. All the young man wanted, besides the pain in his back to stop, was for someone to give him a straight answer, but now all of the nobles were shouting their various suggestions for his punishment.

"Hang him!" One woman yelled.

"Burn him at the stake!" A man yelled louder.

"No, we must be fair about this!" A third person joined in. "Burn him at the stake, and _then_ hang him!"

"Silence!" The Prince ordered, instantly quieting down the throne room. "Do you all see what is happening here? This boy's villainy is so great and toxic that it is even causing us to fight amongst ourselves, and such evil can only be judged by the _Great Hero of Koholint_, himself. Yes, the Great One will see that Link here gets his just reward… but for now give him thirty lashes, and then throw him into the dungeon."

The young man tried to protest, declaring that he was innocent and didn't mean any harm to the people of the island, but by this time the cheering of the crowd was drowning out his words, and then the guards tied him to the pillar once again. This time the lashes did not stop at ten, and Link was in so much pain that he was already passing out by the time that the guards began dragging him toward his new home… a cell in the castle dungeon.


	15. Chapter 15 The Prisoner of Kanalet

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Prisoner of Kanalet**

_As a town guard, I had put a number of people in prison before, but as Prince Richard's guards roughly tossed me into a cell in the dungeon underneath Kanalet Castle, I realized that this was the first time I was seeing it from the other side. Like it was only yesterday, I remember the sound of the door being slammed shut and locked behind me, and then lying on the stone floor for the longest time before being able to get up… and then the reality of my situation hit me… I was a prisoner, accused of some very serious crimes, and I didn't know how I was going to get myself out of it._

There were no windows down in the dungeon, leaving only the flickering orange light of the torches on the wall, not that there was much to see anyway. Link was the only prisoner in more than a dozen stone cells, locked behind iron bars, with only a pile of straw to sleep on. Everything was so quiet, too, with the young man's slightest noise echoing throughout the whole chamber, and not even the guards coming down to check on him for… it was funny, without seeing the sun, he had no idea how much time had passed… could have been hours or days for all he knew.

Eventually, Link needed to sleep, so he laid down on the pile of straw and closed his eyes while trying to ignore the rumbles of hunger in his stomach. These people were planning to feed him at some point, right? Even with the flickering light of the torches, it was so dark and quiet in the dungeon that the young man thought he was going to lose his mind, especially when he opened his eyes after a restless sleep to discover that there was a shadowy figure that looked like it was wearing a hood, standing at the door to his cell.

"Who's that?" Link asked groggily. "Who's there?"

Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, the young man thought he could smell smoke that was coming from where the figure was standing with its gloved hand on the door's lock, and then they just vanished. In the blink of an eye the figure was gone, so Link pulled himself up to his feet and moved over to the door so that he could look down the corridor… only to _hiss_ and pull his hand back from a sudden feeling of pain. Looking down at the lock, the young man's eyes widened when he saw that he had been burned from where the metal had been melted off.

At first he thought that he had hallucinated the figure standing there in the first place, but as the reddened metal slowly turned black again, Link realized both that he hadn't been dreaming, and that thanks to the mysterious person, he was now able to leave the cell at any time. Of course, that information only helped if he could figure out a way to sneak back up through the castle undetected, and then escape back out into the island. But then where would he go? Once it was found that he escaped, the Prince was sure to have the guards searching for him, and…

"Hurry up with that door, man!" A familiar voice ordered from the other side of the chamber. "I swear, if I am not speaking with the prisoner in the next two minutes, _you_ will have the cell next to his."

There was a jingling of keys, followed by the sound of a heavy door opening while a second voice repeatedly apologized to his Prince for the delay, but then Richard told him to just be quiet and be ready to open the door again as soon as he was finished. It surprised Link when the Prince came walking down the stairs all by himself, torch in hand as he confidently strode his way toward the only occupied cell. Once there, he placed his torch in an empty mount to give them more light, and then he just stared at the young man while folding his arms.

"So, tell me, boy." Richard said, moving right up to the barred door. "Why do you wish to bring doom onto my people, hmm? Are you the agent of some dark force, or are you simply a lunatic who thrives on destruction?"

"Your Highness, there's been a _huge_ misunderstanding." Link replied, repeating what he had heard so many criminals say back in Hyrule. "I'm not here to hurt _anyone_, and I certainly don't want to bring _doom_ of any kind to your people."

Clearly not believing a word he was saying, the Prince suddenly drew his sword, causing the young man to gasp in surprise and pain when he stabbed it through the bars. Only the tip of the blade caught his skin, forcing Link to back away, only for Richard to yell that he was a liar, grabbing the torch from its mount, and tossing it into the cell… where it landed on the pile of straw. Since his makeshift bed was just about as dry as it could get, the straw was set ablaze almost instantly, forcing the young man to have to choose between getting burned and getting stabbed by the sword.

"I may have to wait for the Great One to arrive before killing you." The Prince continued, aiming the blade at him again. "But for a coward such as you… you, who would so easily throw away the lives of my people… you _will_ suffer at my hand until he arrives."

Crying out again when the tip of the sword poked him, Link decided to make his move, waiting until Richard's arm was fully extended, and then kicking the door with all his strength. Since the lock had been melted, the Prince was caught completely by surprise when the iron bars slammed into his face, causing him to stumble backwards and fall down, but the young man had no intention of letting him recover. Reaching down and grabbing the wooden torch from where it had landed on the floor, Link ran out of his cell and swung it like a club, bringing the improvised weapon across Richard's head with a satisfying _whack!_

The Prince was unconscious on the floor now, and the fire inside of the cell was almost out, since there was nothing left to burn, meaning that Richard wouldn't die if he was simply left there. With his first instinct being to escape, the young man started toward the stairs, but only got a couple steps before turning back around… after all, if he simply ran up the stairs and attacked the guards, the whole castle would be put on alert, but maybe there was another way for him to go about this.

Taking a moment to think about exactly what he was going to do, the only plan that came to mind was so ridiculous that Link couldn't help but laugh, but you know… maybe it was just crazy enough to work. The first thing he had to do was switch clothes with the Prince, and the young man soon discovered that the only thing harder than undressing an unconscious person was putting new clothes again, but after that came the easy part of dragging Richard into the cell and closing the door. Hopefully he would stay asleep for a while, at least until Link got outside the castle, so after taking the Prince's sword and that bell he was wearing around his neck, it was time to leave.

It was a stroke of luck that the white cape had a hood, and hopefully none of the guards or servants upstairs would question why he was wearing it… but you know what, if the _Prince_ wanted to wear his hood, then who was qualified to tell him otherwise? Trying to stay calm as he strode across the dungeon and up the stairs, the young man had to remind himself that he wasn't sneaking, he had to act like he owned the place, and hopefully it wasn't going to be that hard to mimic Richard's voice… oh well, worst case he was still carrying the sword.

"Open this door right this instant!" Link yelled, trying to talk like the Prince while banging on the door. "How dare you not know what I want before… I… tell you?!"

"Forgive me, Your Highness." The guard quickly replied, fumbling with his keys once again. "It won't happen again, I swear."

A moment later the heavy wooden door was pulled open, and when the guard tried to continue apologizing, the young man simply put up his hand for him to be quiet while walking down the corridor without a word. So far no one stopped to question him, and most people quietly bowed, but Link was more concerned with the face that there was no sunlight coming in through the castle's small windows. He must've been down in the cell for the whole day, but it was still raining outside, which just gave him even more of an excuse to keep the hood on once he got outside.

Trying to remember the way back to the front door, the young man turned down another hallway, not sure if he was going the right way or not, since on the way in he had been distracted with the pain from being whipped, but all these corridors and rooms looked the same. Even with being able to do a halfway decent impression of Richard, it wasn't like he could just ask one of the nobles or servants for directions in what was supposed to be his own castle, without raising suspicion, so Link turned another corner… only to walk right into a guard.

"Deeply sorry, my Prince." He said as him and his companion bowed. "Please forgive… wait a moment… you're not the…

Interrupting the guard's words by pulling back his leg and kicking him in the groin, Link shoved him into the second guard so that his companion was forced to catch him instead of sounding the alarm right away, and then the young man drew his sword. Pointing it at the second guard's neck and warning him to be quiet if he knew what was good for him, Link turned and ran down the corridor, with the guard yelling that the prisoner had escaped a couple seconds later. This was fine, he thought, since the Prince's clothes would still confuse everyone he encountered until word of the disguise was spread, so all Link had to do was keep moving until he reached the front door and… suddenly there was nothing but an upward staircase in front of him.

Now the alarm bells were starting to ring throughout the castle, and there was no way to go back without risking running into those same guards again, so there was no choice but to head up the stairs, where hopefully a way out would present itself before the guards were able to find him and close in.


	16. Chapter 16 Link's Great Escape

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Sixteen: Link's Great Escape**

_Out of all the things I had imagined doing with my life upon leaving Hyrule, breaking myself out of a dungeon and then running from the guards while disguised as a Prince was not on the list. Nevertheless, there I was, unable to find the front door of Kanalet Castle, and forced to flee to the upper levels as the alarm was sounded. I had no idea where I was running to, nor had I been able to come up with a plan beyond what I had already done, but I had to get away… I just had to._

"He went up the stairs!" A voice called from somewhere behind. "Come on, this way!"

Well, so much for being able to sneak up to the second floor undetected, Link thought as he started running again, rounding the first corner he came to in an attempt to keep from being seen when his pursuers reached the top of the stairs. Maybe if he was lucky there would be another stairway around the other side of the castle, and he could get back downstairs to find the entrance while everyone was looking for him up there. It was better than no plan at all, so the young man kept moving down the corridors in a direction that would make him circle around to the far side of the building.

The good news was that there _was_ another stairway, however the guards had apparently been thinking along the same lines that Link had, forcing him to quickly turn back when more of his pursuers came running up. Trying to avoid knocking over the vases and decorative small tables that were on display, since the noise would give away his position faster, the young man went back the way he came, trying to find another way to go, but the first group of guards was already closing in ahead of him.

Plenty of rooms lined the corridors, but they were all bedrooms and dens, the kind of places that only had a single door, and would leave him trapped. In fact, only one promising pathway appeared just as the guards were closing in on both sides, so Link turned and shouldered his way through the heavy looking wooden door to the right, only to be startled when he found himself running out into the still falling rain. Apparently, the young man had found his way onto the roof of the castle, and… from where he was standing, there didn't appear to be any other doors he could run through.

Slamming the door shut and then moving away from it in an attempt to use the darkness of the night to conceal himself, Link's plan to hide was quickly thwarted when the guards who kicked open the door moments later were carrying torches as they rushed out onto the roof, illuminating the whole place with orange light that flickered faster than usual from being hit with raindrops. Forming a half-circle to surround him, the young man backed away from the angry looking guards, but could only go so far until his heels reached the edge of the rooftop.

"There's nowhere to go, criminal." The leader of the guards said, taking another step toward him. "Throw down your sword and surrender, and _maybe_ we won't run you through."

Thunder rumbled in the skies above, with the flat stone roof of the castle being completely illuminated just for a moment by the flash that followed, but the lightning also allowed the young man to see what was down below him over the edge. There was no way Link could take on six guards by himself, not even on his best day, but in coming all the way up to the roof like that, he had brought himself just a little bit higher than the palace wall… maybe… high enough to clear it if he were to jump?

It was a dangerous thing to even consider, since the young man could be seriously injured if he didn't roll properly, or landed on something less than ideal, like rocks or anything sharp, or… or pretty much anything besides some nice soft hedges. Then again, the guards were slowly and carefully closing in to seize him, and anything down on the ground below was bound to be softer than their swords, so without giving himself the chance to talk himself out of it, Link turned and jumped as far over the edge as he could.

As he figured, clearing the wall from that angle was easy, but just as the young man was getting ready to tuck and roll across the terrain, he remembered that the castle was positioned on a little island that was surrounded by _SPLASH_! Suddenly all sound was muffled when he hit the water, and from being spun around on impact, it took Link a few moments to figure out which way was up. Finally being able to draw a gasping, coughing breath upon breaking the surface, he looked around for any signs of pursuit, happy to see that the flickering torches on top of the castle were getting farther away… very quickly, actually.

With the thick cloud cover blocking the moon, and no torches around, everything around Link was almost completely black, making it almost impossible to see, but he could still feel how fast the water was moving. In fact, it felt like ever since his blind leap from the roof, the current had been moving faster and faster, now reaching the point where it was spinning him around, forcing the young man briefly underwater again each time the river violently turned another direction, which it did a lot.

After a few minutes of this, Link became so disoriented that he didn't even realize that he was suddenly falling again, until hitting the water below so hard that his back was stinging, but that was quickly forgotten as the young man was once again forced deep underwater. It must have been a small waterfall or something that the river dumped him over, and now the downward force of the pouring water was flipping him around, even as he moved away from it. At least now the current was slowing down, allowing him to stay afloat for longer than a few seconds, but leaving him with absolutely no clue where he was.

Had to get out of the water, that was the young man's only conscious thought as he swam toward the barely visible shoreline, and thankfully the bell he had stolen from the Prince was faintly glowing the same way that the Coral Triangle had done. It wasn't a lot of light, especially in the rain, but it was enough to let him find his way to the shore, and pull himself up onto a rocky beach, where Link just stayed on his knees, trying to sort through everything that he had just gone through.

It was hard to believe that in the course of a few hours, the young man had been arrested and imprisoned, only to break out and run from the law like a fugitive… no, not _like_ a fugitive… he _was_ a fugitive. On top of all the other crimes that Link had been accused of, assaulting the Prince and escaping confinement were probably not going to go over well with most people on the island, and… that didn't do much for his chances with Marin. Of course, part of his mind couldn't believe that he was worried about a _girl_ at a time like this, when… when suddenly the whole area around him lit up as if by magic.

With a loud _fwoosh_, everything was bathed in flickering orange light, revealing that this place wasn't just some rocky beach, but the edge of a courtyard for some kind of stone temple. Large metal fonts filled with burning wood were lit up all around the small building, which looked a lot older than anything else Link had seen on the island, with its cracked pillars and sharply angled roof that hung over the doorless entrance. Whatever this place was, it was better than simply kneeling out in the rain, so the young man pulled himself up to his feet, and began stumbling his way toward the temple.

The fatigue of today's events must have been catching up to him, because it was getting harder and harder to walk, resulting in a few awkward sideways stumbles. Some of those stumbles left him on his face, and each time it was more difficult to get up again, but the doorway was so inviting that he found the strength to press on. Was the young man going to pass out as soon as he got out of the rain? Maybe… but after finally reaching the doorway and stepping into the stone building, perhaps the passing out part could be held off until he had a look around.

What had looked like a simple old temple from the outside, was actually very well maintained, and quite beautiful on the inside. There was a much bigger version of the burning metal fonts sitting in the center of the building's single chamber, revealing that there were dozens of ancient looking paintings and carved reliefs along the walls; each made up of a couple images and some words, which Link had to rub his eyes to try and bring into focus. Man… even with the water out of his eyes, the young man was so tired that he couldn't make any of the words out while…

"I knew you'd make it here eventually." A voice said, startling him to the point of drawing his sword. "That cape suits you… I hope you didn't kill the Prince, though."

Rubbing his eyes again with his free hand, Link squinted his eyes to see that there was a hooded figure standing on the opposite side of the burning font from where he was, and… and he looked like the same one who he had seen in the dungeon… the one who vanished after melting off the lock so the young man could escape. Even so, it seemed that everyone on this island was either a good friend, or wanted to kill him on sight, so the young man kept his sword ready, carefully approaching the font and trying to get a better look at his, uh… savior?

"Who are you?" Link demanded, trying to fight off a tired yawn. "What do you want from me?"

Instead of answering with words, the figure slowly removed his hood, causing the young man's eyes to widen when he saw who it was. There were differences, such as the start of a beard on his face, and his eyes were much harder than they had been before, but there was no mistaking the blue color of the figure's skin, nor that familiar half smile that caused Link to relax a bit.

"Hello, Junior." Agahnim said in a friendly tone. "It's been a long time."


	17. Chapter 17 The Legend of Agahnim

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Seventeen: The Legend of Agahnim**

_My mind must have been just as fatigued as my body at the moment, because I just stood there like an idiot for a long time, before realizing that I had finally found my best friend. It was definitely him, the blue skinned wizard that I left Hyrule with only a couple weeks before, but it was hard not to see the differences as well. He was more muscular, in better shape physically, carrying himself with more confidence, and that beard… there was no way around it, Agahnim looked older, or at least more mature… but how could that happen in just the few days that had passed since we were shipwrecked?_

Both of them slowly walked around the burning font, deciding without words to meet on the left side, and as the wizard got closer, Link started to see even more differences in his missing friend. For one thing Agahnim's clothes were completely different than they had been before, not that the young man could really say anything about this, since he had stolen Prince Richard's outfit, but… although the wizard's clothes were certainly of high quality, the robes he was wearing were faded and starting to wear out, as if he was using them for a long time.

Another difference was that his friend was wearing a sword on his belt; a shiny blade with a gold hilt that looked like there was the engraving of a seashell on the front. Agahnim had never carried a sword before, preferring to use a combination of his magic and hand to hand combat just like his father did, but how did that change so quickly, and where had the wizard gotten such a beautiful sword? Damn this island, every time Link started to figure something out, it just raised more questions.

"I thought my spell protected you, and you were safe in Hyrule." Agahnim said, looking him over with just as much skepticism. "Clearly it didn't work, but… where have you been this whole time, Junior?"

"Looking for _you_." The young man replied. "When I saw the wreck on the beach, I thought you drowned, and… where have _you_ been this whole time?"

Smirking again, the wizard began his tale with the last thing he remembered before their separation, which was casting a protection spell on Link just before the lightning strike. Then there was darkness and some music, which the young man identified as the same one he had been hearing when his friend hummed it. Next thing Agahnim knew, he was underwater, feeling like he was burning up, but it turned out that this was because he had somehow landed inside of a small hot spring.

"Remember how I poked fun at how hard my sister fell for your brother?" The wizard asked, motioning for Link to move closer to the font so he could dry off. "Well, that was how I felt when I was dragged out of the water, and I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful woman in the world leaning over me… Tracy."

The young man was confused by how Agahnim described getting closer with the owner of the health spa, and how quickly their relationship developed, since… want _Crazy Tracy_ a married woman who had two children? From there, his friend described how he had begun his own search, exploring the local villages and landscapes for any sign of Link, but discovering nothing, leading him to eventually believe that his friend hadn't washed up on the island at all. So the wizard turned his attention to learning as much about the place as possible, and that was when he met the owl.

Like something out of a children's bedtime story, the animal told Agahnim that he was the one chosen to gather the Instruments of the Sirens and wake the sleeping Wind Fish, and since he had left Hyrule seeking adventure, the wizard agreed. Apparently magic wasn't as common on Koholint Island as it was in Hyrule, and the wizard's powers made him more than a match for even the deadliest creatures as he explored such places as the Tail Cave and the Key Cavern. Link wasn't familiar with the Key Cavern, but if Agahnim had gone into the Tail Cave before him, it explained how all of those spiked turtle/beetle things had been dead when he arrived.

"The owl only appeared every so often, so I had a lot of time in between." The wizard explained. "I spent a lot of time with Tracy, helping her develop her healing potions, but as word of my magic spread, people started coming to me for help, and as a result I made a lot of friends."

One day a very large Moblin came to the health spa, and asked for Agahnim's help in ending a civil war that was raging throughout the swamps and forest between his and another tribe. A few fireballs and lightning bolts later the civil war was over, and the Moblin he had helped became Captain of both tribes, pledging to help the wizard if he ever needed it, but that wasn't the only friend he made. In fact, the ruler of the island himself, Prince Richard, came for help one day when his servants began a mutiny.

The Prince had been disheveled, forced to take shelter in an old, unused gardener's hut while his servants took over Kanalet Castle, and as the son of a Lord himself, Agahnim just could not let that stand. This time there was no need for killing, like what had to be done to demonstrate his power to the Moblins, and the rebellious servants surrendered after being intimidated by a few simple spells. Sure, Richard had the rebels executed for treason as soon as he was back on the throne, but the wizard just shrugged about this, saying that the same thing would happen after a failed mutiny in Hyrule.

"Between both actions, the owl came back and led me to more awful places." Agahnim continued. "The last place I went into was called the Angler's Tunnel, actually, that's where I got that bell you're wearing around your neck… but then I found this temple, and everything changed. Come here and look at this."

Motioning over to the temple's largest wall, Link followed his friend over to the largest and most elaborately carved of all the reliefs, where the young man saw two pictures. The first was a rough, but highly detailed image of the owl that had been guiding him, while the other was the image of a gigantic, and very colorful fish that appeared to be flying above the clouds. It was the words, however, that were the important part, so Agahnim blew the dust away so that the chiseled letters could be seen clearly.

_TO THE FINDER… THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY, A SCENE ON THE LID OF THE SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKEN THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE… LEAVE THE DREAMER, AND THIS WILL FOREVER BE YOUR HOME…CASTAWAY, YOU DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH… ALL IS IN YOUR HANDS._

"What, this place will… that's ridiculous." Link said after he had finished reading. "You're saying this whole island is nothing but some kind of… dream of the Wind Fish? That doesn't make any sense at all."

"Oh yes it does, Junior, if you pay attention." The wizard replied. "The Wind Fish is trapped in its own dream, and that no good owl wants to destroy everything here just to wake the stupid thing up. True or not, the owl believes it, and I've seen enough prof over the years to convince me, which is why I gave some of the instruments to my friends for safe keeping, and put the others right back where I found them."

No longer content to blindly follow the owl's instructions, Agahnim abandoned the quest completely, warning Prince Richard and the Moblin Captain about the animal's treachery, and then taking them with him on a yearlong quest to find the legendary Sword of Koholint. Upon finding the blade after receiving a special seashell that served as the key to its hiding place, after helping a ghost come to terms with its death… damn annoying ghost… the wizard sword to protect the island against anyone else who might try to wake the Wind Fish, eventually gaining a reputation as the Great Hero of Koholint.

After everything calmed down again, Agahnim told about how he accepted the island as his home, marrying Tracy and starting a family with her, but so much of the wizard's story didn't make any sense. For one thing, how was it possible for the wizard to have done all of these things in the few days that had passed since they were shipwrecked, and when asked about it, Agahnim stopped everything to ask Link how long he had been on the island. The only answer the young man could give was the truth, saying that he had been unconscious at Marin's house in Mabe Village for a couple days after the wreck, so… about a week.

"A _week_?!" The wizard exclaimed, so shocked by the answer that he took a step backwards. "You're telling me that you've only been on Koholint Island for a _week_?! Junior, I've been here for _twelve years_!"

Now it was the young man's turn to be shocked, but if this seemingly outrageous claim was true, it explained why his friend looked so different after such a short time. It would also explain why some of the wood from the shipwreck Link had found was so much older than the rest, along with why all of the dead creatures he had found in the Tail Cave and the grotto were all skeletal and rotten. Could what Agahnim was saying be true? Did he really already go through everything with the owl, _and_ have enough time to have a family with Tracy… gosh, twelve years, but… but _how_?

"It doesn't seem possible, but… maybe my spell _did_ protect you." The wizard commented. "Remember a long time ago when we were on the boat, and I cast the barrier so you could fix the sails? I thought it stopped you from coming here, but maybe it just… I don't know, slowed you down getting here. Time _does_ move differently here than it does in the real world, I know that much, so maybe."

"Real world?" Link asked. "Okay, I'll admit that some pretty strange things are happening around here, but _come on_, Agahnim, how can you seriously believe that this place is not real?"

Agahnim folded his arms and bit his lip for a second as if trying to think up a reply, but then he snapped his fingers as if a brilliant idea had just shot into his mind. Explaining that he had taken years for him to find all the evidence and form his own judgement, the wizard declared that now that he knew where everything was on this whole island, his friend didn't need to wait so long to accept the truth. Agahnim then grabbed Link's arm, and suddenly everything around them became a distorted, unrecognizable blur, but only before a second when it all came back into focus and… they were on a completely different part of the island… where the rain was still coming down hard.

"You want proof, Junior?" The wizard asked, illuminating the area around them by producing flame in his hand. "Fine… follow me, and I'll give you all the proof you ever wanted."


	18. Chapter 18 Evidence

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Eighteen: Evidence**

_I remember feeling more confused than anything as Agahnim led me toward the proof he was going to use to show me that… even know it's hard to wrap my head around the very idea that Koholint Island was nothing but a dream. Not even my dream at that, but of the Wind Fish, and… if it were somehow all true, then how in the world did the two of us end up there in the first place… with my friend being there twelve years longer than I was? I was so sure that Agahnim was wrong, that he had hit his head or something, but what if it were all true?_

With rain still falling, and the heavy cloud cover blocking the moonlight, the fire that flickered in the wizard's hand was the only way to see, making Link unsure if he had even been to this part of the island yet. Waves could be heard crashing somewhere nearby, so they had to be somewhere near the coast, but on an island that could have still meant any number of places. The terrain was a mixture of sparse grasses and white sand, kind of like an in between of the shore and more grassy areas like where Mabe Village was. However, instead of leading him toward the beach, the young man was surprised when a small house appeared in the orange light.

"Where are we?" Link asked as they got closer to the building. "What is this place?"

"Come inside, and I'll show you." Agahnim replied, pushing open the unlocked door. "Personally, I found this place by accident, but it should be enough to convince you."

The young man had seen some pretty old and neglected places around Koholint Island so far, but upon entering the cottage, the word _old_ gained a completely new definition. Every step across the rotted, dried wood floor felt like the young man was going to break through, and with as much as the walls creaked from the wind, it seemed like they were in competition with the dried-up thatch roof to see which would break down under the storm first. Thankfully, nothing collapsed on top of them, and actually… for as old and neglected as this cottage was, it wasn't even leaking.

"Take a look around, Junior." The wizard continued, using his fire to light some old candles that somehow still worked. "I won't say anything else, just take your time."

At first glance, this place looked like any other small home of the common folk, just a lot older and out of use, but the young man knew better than to think that his friend would bring him there for nothing. So he started searching, beginning with the first item that couldn't be inspected with just looking… an old wardrobe. Walking over to the dried wooden piece of furniture, Link opened it, and discovered that aside from a lot of dust and beach sand that had blown in, the whole thing was filled with… dresses?

Yes, there was a whole row of handmade dresses hanging up, along with shoes and boots, a few hats… so a girl lived in that house a long time ago? So what? What did that have to do with the island possibly being not real? The wizard hadn't reacted to anything so far, so Link continued looking around, moving over to the old bed where a large trunk was sitting at the foot. It wasn't locked, so the young man opened the lid, but there wasn't much inside, other than some loose papers that might have been drawings, but… they had fallen apart over time. There was also a book of some kind, which actually turned out to be an old journal, or a diary that was written in handwriting that was so neat and elegant that it _had_ to belong to a woman.

Skimming through the pages after bringing them closer to the candlelight, Link found that most of the entries were about the island, but written as if she were seeing these things for the first time, almost as if… as if the owner of this house had been a castaway herself. The people of Mabe Village helped her build the cottage once she realized that she was going to be there for a long time, and she liked the local mushroom festival, but then every so often one of the entries would be completely different.

The writer would go from talking about things like the delicious honey from Animal Village, and then take a depressed tone while describing another _chosen hero_ who was trying to rescue her. Each one described how this rescuer made all kinds of boasts, claiming that he was the one who was going to free her and win her hand, but then each entry ended the same way… with a somber notation at the bottom stating that the chosen hero had failed, and that she was going to have to be on the island for even longer.

"Interesting, yes?" Agahnim asked, walking over to join him. "Why don't you skip ahead, and read the very last entry?"

Why not? As happy as the young man was to have found his friend again, he was eager to get to the point of why they were at this cottage, so he turned to the last page that had writing on it, and began to read:

_Another chosen hero visited me today, boasting that I would soon be free of the curse that trapped me here, but we shall see how long this one lasts… he has passed the first trial and visited me again, claiming that my freedom is at hand and that he would win my hand… he has passed the second trial and I felt so guilty about leading the others on that I confessed I don't feel that way about him. No one passes the third test, and I didn't want him to die with false hope… he passed the third trial, I can't believe it… maybe Link really can set me free after all these years._

"Link?" He asked, genuinely confused. "Agahnim, what is this? What does this all mean?"

In response, the wizard simply told him to examine the inside cover of the book for the owner's name, and when the young man turned there, he was even more startled to read the words: _This is the diary of Princess Zelda of Hyrule_. But how could that be? If anything, the fact that one of the many Princess Zeldas of his home kingdom had been on the island, proved that it was a real place, didn't it?

"Junior, do you remember the story your mother used to tell us when we were little?" Agahnim asked. "About how the original Princess Zelda was cursed with eternal sleep, and your father eventually set her free? Now, think hard for a second… think about the parts where your father actually talked to the Princess between the challenges."

Still not quite understanding what the point was, Link thought back to the story he had heard a hundred times, specifically remembering how his mother chuckled a bit when the Princess rejected his father while they were talking on that island… that island… while Link Senior and the original Princess Zelda were sitting on the beach… the beach of beautiful _Koholint Island_. But that was impossible… how could she have been there just twenty years ago? This place was far older than that… unless what Agahnim said about time on the island was true.

"No, this can't be true." The young man said, dropping the book back into the trunk. "No, this has to be fake, or you're playing a joke on me, which one is it."

"I was hoping you would be satisfied here." The wizard replied with a long sigh. "But don't worry, Junior, I have one more thing to show you… come along."

Putting out the candles with a snap of his free hand, Agahnim lead Link back outside into the rain, this time moving toward the sound of crashing waves until they reached a place on the beach that he hadn't explored yet. Moving back to an area that was hidden behind a palm tree and some large rocks, the young man watched intently as his friend came back out dragging a large wooden raft with an oar tied to it. The homemade craft looked old, but nowhere near as much as the cottage, and then the wizard dropped it at Link's feet.

"I didn't want to believe it at first either, Junior." Agahnim said, untying the oar. "So I built this raft in an attempt to escape, and uh… you know what, just get on and paddle yourself away from this island as hard and as fast as you can."

The idea of floating off into the open sea on such a small raft didn't sound very smart, especially during a rainstorm, but Link reluctantly agreed, figuring that if he really did manage to get away, he could come back to rescue his friend eventually. Not wanting to admit how unsure he was, the young man shoved the raft into the water, and started paddling regardless of the storm. Looking back at his friend, who could be seen waving goodbye to him in the flickering light, he turned forward and paddled straight ahead, heading out into the darkness for several minutes while the waves moved him up and down… not nearly as bad as the storm that wrecked his boat, but it was still… hey, what was that up ahead?

Barely visible against the dark gray cloud cover, there was a huge shape of solid darkness that he struggled to see through the rain in his eyes, but Link kept going, refusing to allow himself to be turned back toward Koholint Island, and… hey, what was that toward the bottom of the shape? Was that… a camp fire? A camp fire on the beach of another island? Was Koholint part of a longer chain of islands, he wondered as he got closer over the next few minutes? Maybe they would know the way back to Hyrule.

His strength renewed with the knowledge that the wizard was wrong, the young man paddled toward the island, wiping rain from his eyes after every few strokes of the oar, and now starting to see some of the new island's features as he approached, namely the palm trees and the sand that he could see in the light of the small fire. Closer and closer he got, filled with hope that someone there would be able to help him find the way home, especially when it appeared that someone was there, standing next to the fire, and… waving at him? Could this person really see that good in the dark.

Closer and closer, Link was breathing heavily as he paddled, nearly falling off the raft when it ran aground, and then crawling up to the mysterious person, and… and then having all of his hopes dashed in less than a second. But how could this be? No, it just wasn't possible, the young man had paddled completely straight, following the shape of the darkened clouds since there were no stars, but… no…

"Consider yourself lucky, Junior." Agahnim said with a smirk. "When I tried that, I got all the way back to Mabe Village before I realized that it was the same place."


	19. Chapter 19 Indecision

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Nineteen: Indecision**

_Three times I tried again to paddle myself away from Koholint Island, convinced that I had somehow gotten turned around in the darkness, and three times I found myself right back on the shore where Agahnim was waiting for me. As ridiculous as it was to think that this whole place was some kind of waking dream that the two of us were trapped in, my friend's evidence was pretty convincing. But now that there was at least the chance of him being right, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next… what was I supposed to do?_

The more that Link thought about everything the wizard was saying, the more his head hurt to the point where he had to sit down on one of the larger rocks. Okay, say for a moment that Agahnim was right about everything, and that the whole island would simply vanish if the Wind Fish woke up… the obvious thing to do would be to not wake the thing up in order to save all of the people, but then again… if this was a dream, then what was happening to him back out in the real world?

Princess Zelda had remained motionless for hundreds of years during her cursed sleep, but if she were also living in that old cottage the whole time, then was the same thing happening to him? Was the young man's body simply asleep wherever it had ended up after the storm was over? Unlike the Princess, who had a whole wing of the North Palace dedicated just to her, the last memory of the real world that Link had was his ship getting struck by lightning, so… so was he floating out in the open water, or… what?

"I know it's a lot to accept, Junior." Agahnim said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But after a while, you'll see that being trapped here isn't so bad. I mean, over the years, I gained a wife and family, and I heard that girl, Marin, over in the village is sweet on you, so… who knows? Maybe you can have the same thing."

"But what about our _real_ families?" The young man replied, looking at his friend. "Are you telling me that you're fine with never seeing your father or your sister again? They'll just spend the rest of their lives worried about us, and never knowing what happened?"

The wizard hesitated for a second, but then shrugged, before calmly stating that if it meant that he was able to preserve Tracy and his children, then Agahnim was _completely_ fine with that. After all, he had turned against the owl and put back the instruments that he had found twelve years ago, even going so far as to leave them in the hands of his friends, and… and suddenly Link got a sinking feeling in his stomach when he wondered what would happen if he chose to keep collecting them.

His friend was adamant about keeping the Wind Fish asleep, with absolute faith that the island and all its people would vanish otherwise, so… so what would happen if the young man challenged that stance? He wasn't saying that he was going to keep collecting the instruments, at least not until there was a chance to have a _long_ conversation with the owl in order to clear everything up, but then what? If Link chose to keep going in the direction of waking the Wind Fish, how far would the wizard go to stop him?

Agahnim was a powerful wizard, wielding the same kind of devastating magic that his father used, and not that the young man was a coward or anything, but he absolutely did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of those spells. At the same time, though, if this place really _was_ a dream world… damn it, he just didn't know what to do. This whole situation was like something a drunken lunatic would come up with, leaving him with an impossible choice: Either wake the Wind Fish and lose Marin, or stay there and condemn himself to eternal sleep.

"Stop thinking about it; you'll drive yourself crazy." The wizard said, shaking him a bit. "Look, Junior, why… why don't you take a few days and try to relax, you know… go spend time with Marin, maybe? Figure out for yourself what is truly important, and then before you know it, you'll probably decide to put the Siren Instruments back on your own. See you then."

With that, Agahnim vanished, causing everything to go dark again since his flame vanished as well, and leaving Link just sitting there in the pouring rain by the beach. All right, there was no way for him to find the path back to Mabe Village, so the young man sought shelter in the only place that was still illuminated: Zelda's old cottage that still had all of the burning candles. Stumbling over rocks, and slipping once or twice in the mud, Link pulled the old door shut behind him after entering the cottage, and then began removing his wet clothes. Hopefully, they would at least mostly dry out by the time the rain stopped, and then the young man blew out all of the candles except for the one next to the bed, which creaked as he sat down.

"Were you really here for hundreds of years, Zelda?" He asked, speaking to no one. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You have to make a choice." A familiar voice answered. "Just like Agahnim did a long time ago."

Startled by the sound, Link picked up the candle and held it up to see farther away, surprised once again when he saw that it came from the owl, sitting on the empty frame of the nearest window. The animal shook the water from its feathers, nearly putting the flame out if he hadn't moved it back just in time, and then the owl jumped down so that it was sitting on the night stand next to him. Apparently it and the wizard had a pretty severe falling out over the truth of the Wind Fish, which might have explained the animal's attitude toward castaways, but at least now there was a chance to get some answers.

"Owl, have you been keeping things from me, because of Agahnim?" He asked, setting the candle back down. "Is what he said true? Will this whole island just… vanish if the Wind Fish wakes up?"

"That's the thing, kid, _no one_ knows for sure." The animal replied. "Those ruins have been here for as long as anyone can remember, but the only one who could probably tell you the whole truth is the Wind Fish, and… and Agahnim was so head over heels for Tracy by the time he found that carving, that he didn't want to risk it."

At least the owl wasn't brow-beating him this time, and it was surprisingly forthcoming when asked about whether or not Princess Zelda was ever on the island. Not only had she lived there for a very long time, but according to the animal, she and it had been great friends until the Princess just up and vanished one day. Her sleep had been different from that of the Wind Fish, so she had been unable to wake the mysterious creature, leaving it all up to people like Agahnim. Others had come before, only a few, and they had been killed by the original guardians of the instruments… powerful creatures that crumbled to dust against Agahnim's magic.

"As much as I want to, I can't force you to keep searching." The owl continued. "You could choose to stay and make a life with Marin, as your friend did, or you can press on, just… I've known that wizard for a long time, so be warned… Agahnim most likely has a plan for if you decide to continue… so watch yourself, kid."

As quickly as the wizard had vanished, the animal flapped its wings and vanished out the window into the night, once again leaving Link just sitting there on the bed. Blowing out the last candle in order to try and get some sleep, the young man was surprised that he was still able to see the area around him, and that was when he remembered the bell he had taken from Prince Richard. It was odd that Agahnim hadn't even mentioned the instrument, nor had he asked about where the others were hidden, almost as if the owl was right… was the wizard really prepared to stop him?

Well, no one was attacking him tonight, and Link was exhausted, so he laid down on the bed, setting the bell on the stand. Outside, the rain continued to pound on the old roof, with some of the water blowing in through the open windows, but the young man was too tired to care about that right now. As the fatigue overtook him, all he cared about was getting a good night's rest, so Link closed his eyes just for a moment, only for them to snap open again in reaction to a bright light. Sitting up and instinctively reaching for his sword to defend himself against whoever was holding the lantern, the young man stopped when he realized that there was no lantern… nor was there an intruder for that matter.

The light was instead coming from outside, brilliantly illuminating the whole interior of the old cottage as the sun rose up across the horizon, meaning that he must have been asleep for several hours. Everything was a lot quieter now, since the wind died down, and no more rain could be seen falling through the windows, and in fact… the air was a lot warmer as well, to the point where it might have been pretty muggy if not for the light breeze that remained. It was tempting to just spend the day in bed, but the young man's mind was still spiraling around with everything both Agahnim and the owl had told him.

No, Link needed to get up and head back to Mabe Village, not just to make sure the other three Instruments of the Sirens were still there, but also because he agreed with the wizard that he needed to spend more time with Marin. The clothes the young man had stolen from the Prince were still a bit damn, nothing a good walk in the sun wouldn't fix, and Richard's sword… it would do for now, since Link had been unable to recover his own sword and shield after being arrested at the health spa, but oh well, at least now he looked more presentable for attracting the attention of a young lady.

Putting the bell back around his neck, the young man reminded himself to stash it underneath Tarin's bed with the others, if there was room… yeah, he really needed to find a better hiding place for those things. But that could wait until he found his way back to Mabe Village, which shouldn't have been too hard, so long as Link remained close to the beach after leaving the cottage. The sun felt really warm on his face after a couple days of nothing but rain, and the sand was still a bit wet, making the young man almost lose his footing a couple times while moving around some of the larger…

"Link!" A voice called just as he was passing some palm trees. "Hey, Link! Over here!"

Startled by the sound, he quickly looked toward it while reaching for the sword… only to relax when he saw that the voice belonged to Marin. The young woman was waving to him with a smile on her face, sitting on the trunk of a tree that must have fallen over in the storm, down by the water. Well, Link had wanted an opportunity to spend more time with her, and this was his big chance, but was she real? As he walked over to where she was sitting, the young man understood why Agahnim had chosen to stay with Tracy instead of waking the Wind Fish, but could Link do the same? If the island really was just a dream, could he stay there and abandon the real world?


	20. Chapter 20 Animal Village

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty: Animal Village**

_Now that the rain had finally stopped, and the sand on the beach of Koholint Island was almost dried out, I remember that it was turning out to be a beautiful day… although all that paled in comparison to Marin. Yes, I am aware that I had only known the young woman for a few days, but everything about her was just so perfect, from her hair down to her shoes, and she smelled so wonderful as we sat and talked on the fallen palm tree. Agahnim had been right when he suggested that me spending time with her would have an impact on my decision whether or not to wake the Wind Fish, but the final decision was mine alone… what was I going to do?_

After all of the insanity that had been going on since his arrival on the island, it was nice for Link to have the chance to just sit down and relax with someone for a while. Marin wanted to know all about the young man, such as where he was from, and his family and friends, with the added bonus of him being able to forget all about the Wind Fish for a while. So he told her all about his family and friends, including the two great adventures that his father had gone on, and how Link had wanted to have his own life, instead of just being known as the son of a hero.

The young woman had a thousand more questions about Hyrule, and said that she would love to see it sometime, but also that her father and everyone else on the island were convinced that there was nothing beyond the sea. In any other circumstance, the young man would have found a way to make a new boat and simply take Marin away from Koholint, but as Agahnim had recently proved to him, there was no easy way to leave… once again lending credit to the idea that this place was somehow not real.

"Sometimes I wish I was a seagull." The young woman said, interrupting his thoughts. "Then I could just fly away from her and go anywhere I wanted, and then I could sing for all the people of the world."

"Yeah… I suppose that could be nice." Link replied, deciding to test the waters by putting his hand on top of hers. "You didn't tell me you could sing."

She didn't pull her hand away, which was a good sign, and just carried on like everything was normal, explaining to him that she had been invited to sing at the Honey Festival over in Animal Village later that afternoon. This was why she had been down at the beach in the first place, warming up her voice before spotting the young man, and now he really did want to hear what Marin sounded like. If her voice was as perfect as the rest of her, then whatever the young woman sang was going to be a treat indeed, and then the young woman suddenly stood up, pulling him away from the shore by the hand.

"Come on, Link, let's go together." She said happily. "You can be my date to the Honey Festival."

There was no way he was going to argue with that, since the young man wanted any excuse he could find to spend more time with her, so Link got up from the fallen tree, and the two of them started walking hand in hand. Back the way he came, and right past Zelda's old cottage, Marin led him back into what looked like the southern edge of the prairie he had seen while trying to find Tracy, but that was as far north as they went… and good thing, too, since Prince Richard and his guards were probably not very happy with him right about now.

For such a small island, it sure had a diverse set of climates, such as the forest, prairie, and swamp that Link had already seen, and now the landscape was starting to get sandier as they headed east. Not like the white sands of the beach, but simply less grassy to the point where there were large patches of tan colored dirt, while the air was becoming dry, which… made it not make much sense when the two of them came up to a shallow creek that should have been surrounded by grass on both sides even in a more arid climate.

The path ended right at the edge of the creek and continued on the other side, while a collection of rocks and gravel were visible just below the water's surface as if it had once been the way across, but washed away. Marin suggested that they should take their shoes off in order to stop them from getting wet, but Link had a better idea, making the young woman cry out in surprise when he suddenly picked her up into his arms. The boots he had stolen from Prince Richard were very high quality, and therefore waterproof, so the young man simply walked across the shallow creek with her in his arms, and then gently set her back down once they were on the other side.

"My hero." She said with a slight smile. "Come on, we're almost there."

Resuming their walk, this time with Marin linking arms with him so that they had to walk closer together, which the young man didn't mind at all, the land around them became even more dry, but… there was also a new smell in the air. It was sweet, lingering within the breeze, and it took Link a moment to realize that it was honey… well, yeah, simpleton, they were on their way to a _honey_ festival. He also had to admit that he had been curious about Animal Village ever since seeing it on the Koholint Island map at the library, since the name of the place seemed strange… at least it _did_ until they reached the village limits.

"Would you look at that?" He said to himself. "Huh… Animal Village."

At first glance, the place looked a lot like Mabe Village, with a similar layout, and the same kind of buildings, but with two important differences. The first was that instead of being surrounded with trees, this place was bordered on three sides by rocky hills, and instead of people… and the young man had to rub his eyes for this one… it was populated by animals. Yes, even after rubbing his eyes a second time, Animal Villages was occupied with person size, upright walking, clothes wearing… animals… and they were very happy to see Marin.

Speaking like people, while smaller versions of the animals ran around and played like any other children, the animals led them into the village, where a few others from Mabe Village were already present, to where… to where a very large _bear_ in a chef's hat was stirring what looked like a caldron filled with golden honey that was bubbling over a fire. The whole place smelled absolutely wonderful, and, well… you figure if any animal knew how to properly cook up some honey, it would be a bear… right?

And cook it up he did; there was a large cake that the bear used a spoon to pour some honey on like a glaze, and some strangely colored bread that the honey was spread on like butter, and that was just the beginning. Thankfully, there was plenty of actual food as well, since Link was worried about getting sick from too much honey, but then the young man saw something that surprised him. First, there were a couple of familiar looking children who were playing with some of the animals, while Crazy Tracy from the health spa watched over them, and then…

"I'm glad you could make it, Junior." Agahnim said, startling the young man by putting his arm around him. "The Honey Festival is certainly one of the highlights of life here on Koholint… and look, you even brought a date."

"You… you're _Agahnim_!" Marin exclaimed. "Link, you didn't tell me you know the great hero of Koholint."

Honestly, Link wasn't sure what to say, but thankfully the wizard took care of that for him by suggesting that the young woman do a song for them. The people and animals agreed, happily urging her to perform, even though the festival hadn't officially started yet… but then the young man was distracted from everything else when he saw that Richard was there as well. The Prince noticed him at the same time, and immediately reached for the new sword on his belt… but then Agahnim held up his hand, and Richard backed down. Link didn't understand how his friend could have become so great here that even the _Prince_ obeyed him, not that Richard didn't scowl and turn away just as Marin was getting ready to sing.

"I know the festival hasn't started yet." The young woman began. "And I know you all probably want to hear _Manbo's Mambo_, but you know I always save that one for last, so… I'll sing the _Ballad of the Wind Fish_."

The name of the song caught Link's attention, even though he was busy keeping one eye on Prince Richard, and then everyone fell silent as Marin began to sing. Her song was lovely, slow paced and almost like a lullaby, but as much as the young woman's voice was making him fall for her even more, the words were not what caught his attention the most. It was the fact that the tune of the song she was singing was the exact same one that the young man kept hearing every time one of the Instruments of the Sirens was nearby.

A larger crowd was gathering now, with everyone around seemingly mesmerized by this beautiful song, and even Prince Richard was calm now as everyone except for Agahnim and Link began to slowly sway back and forth. The wizard leaned in and gave Tracy a kiss on the cheek before returning his attention to the song, and when it was over, everyone applauded as if they suddenly came back to life. Now the crowd was demanding more from her, with several of them insisting on hearing Manbo's Mambo, whatever that was, so Marin finally gave in, beginning to sing a much faster and happier song that made everyone pair up to start dancing.

However, just as Link was trying to find a way to be able to dance with the young woman, her latest song and all other sounds around him became muffled while… while the Ballad of the Wind Fish could barely be heard coming from somewhere behind him. The people and animals danced and carried on while Marin danced and sang the song, but… the music the young man could hear was hard to resist… like he was supposed to follow it… follow it through the small path that went between the rocky hills that bordered Animal Village to where another Instrument of the Sirens probably awaited him.


	21. Chapter 21 Yarna Desert

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty One: Yarna Desert**

_I wanted to stay there in Animal Village with Marin, but the call of that music was just too strong for me to ignore, leading me to explore the path that led between the two rocky hills. To this day, I don't completely understand why I was so determined to find all of the Instruments of the Sirens, since there didn't exactly seem to be a time limit on the task, so why didn't I stay and at least spend the whole afternoon with her? Agahnim made no move to stop me, even though he could clearly see what I was doing, and before I knew it, a whole new landscape had opened up in front of me._

For a good portion of the walk between the beach and Animal Village, the air had been drying out while the terrain transitioned from grassy to sandy, but after traveling down the path between the two rocky hills on the far side of the village, the transformation finished up real fast. The sky was clear now, and instead of even a single blade of grass, there was nothing on the ground but sand and rocks, and the air was so dry in this place that Link coughed a little after that first deep breath. It was a desert that now filled the young man's vision, a huge box canyon desert that was bordered on all sides by rocky hills that were so steep that climbing them looked impossible.

A few large cactuses broke up the monotony of the brown landscape as he started into the desert, nearly losing his footing when some of the small rocks shifted under his weight, but except for his own clumsiness, so far there were no other threats in sight. Moving down a shallow decline, where it was even harder to keep his balance on the mixture of gravel and sand, Link couldn't see any other paths to travel except the one he was on, bringing him slowly down into an area that became flat again, although a lot less rocky, and… that was about it.

No, wait a second, there was one distinguishable feature, and that was the large boulder in the very center. Aside from that, there was only the sand, the way the young man came down, and the border wall of the whole desert, so he started toward it after faintly hearing the Ballad of the Wind Fish faintly once again the next time the wind blew. Link wished that he had a scarf or something, since every time the breeze kicked up some sand, it seemed to go right for his mouth, and now that the rocks were gone, it was even harder to keep his balance on the completely smooth, and very soft powder on the ground.

The young man's feet sunk in deeply with each step that he took, making this the most difficult terrain that he had ever needed to walk across, including the swamp where his boots had been constantly filled with water. However, the whole effort seemed worth it after getting close enough to the boulder to see why it was important, and that reason was largely because of the object sitting on the very top. It was gold colored, and shimmering as the light of the afternoon sun shined down onto it… from where Link was standing, squinting his eyes to try and get a better look, the object looked like a small harp… and then something moved.

No, not up near the instrument, but on the ground toward the other side of the boulder, where just for a second, the young man thought he saw some of the sand move out of the corner of his eye. Taking his eyes down from the harp, Link drew his sword and watched the dirt closely, although now it looked like he had imagined it. Maybe the movement had been a trick of the light, or just because something had tried to kill him every other time one of the instruments had been found, because everything was still.

A little more wind blew, shifting some of the powder on the surface, but that was about it, so the young man turned his attention back to how he was going to get up to the top of the boulder, when once again something moved. This time he was sure that he had seen something shifting the sand from below, so Link ran toward it, stumbling a little as he moved across the soft sand, and then stabbing his blade into the part that he had seen move. His plan had been to attack whatever it was, instead of getting taken by surprise like the other times, but when the young man's sword went into the ground, it hit nothing but sand.

More movement, pushing up some more sand a short distance away, so Link followed it, struggling to keep from falling on his face as he rushed toward the disturbed spot, this time leaping and jamming the sword down with all his might… only to hit nothing again. Now the young man was getting angry, it was like whatever was hiding underneath the dirt was playing with him, so he jumped up and started running as soon as he saw the movement again, not toward it, but on a direct line toward the large boulder.

As far as he was concerned, if the hidden creature didn't want to show itself, that was fine as long as it didn't get between him and the harp. However, as soon as he got close to the boulder again, the underground disturbance reappeared, this time leaving a long and very visible trail as it quickly pursued him. Stopping in his tracks, Link turned around and raised his blade in preparation to try stabbing it again, but this time the creature didn't stay underground… this time the dirt was kicked up in all directions as a large set of teeth came flying right toward him.

There was no time for the young man to react, and if he hadn't lost footing in the loose sand and stumbled sideways at that exact moment, the jaws of the monster would probably have finished him, instead of just passing by while Link was knocked the rest of the way over upon being bumped by the long, segmented body that followed. Hitting the soft dirt and rolling over in case the monster came back at him, the young man looked just in time to see the creature dive back underneath the dirt, vanishing as easily as if it were a fish going back underwater… and then the visible trail curved back toward him.

Moving much faster this time, the creature seemed to sense his movements even before he made them, giving Link just barely enough time to stop and leap in the opposite direction just before the monster broke the surface again, its jaws snapping hungrily at the spot where he would have originally landed. Like the last time, the creature vanished underground again, and the young man knew that if he didn't think of something fast, its speed was going to overwhelm him. But what was he supposed to do? Without his long lost shield to defend himself with, there was only the sword he had stolen from Prince Richard, and… and the boulder.

Changing direction again, Link circled away from the visible trail as far as he could, and then ran toward the boulder, not looking back as he awkwardly moved across the sand, even though he could almost feel the monster closing in behind him. Somehow the young man managed to reach the rock before it caught up to him, grabbing onto the rough surface and scrambling upward, but only climbing a short distance before the monster slammed into the boulder with enough force to make him lose his grip.

There was no way to stop himself from falling, resulting in Link landing on the back of the creature's exposed head, but it must have been dazed from hitting the rock, because its jaws were moving a lot slower than before when it tried to grab him. Not wanting to give the monster a chance to recover, the young man raised his sword and stabbed it down into the top of the thing's head so that it shrieked. Pulling the blade out and stabbing it again, and again, and again, the already dazed monster couldn't fight back as it took wound after wound, and as soon as it stopped moving, Link got back onto the boulder and resumed his efforts to climb it.

So far the segmented creature still wasn't moving, and the boulder really wasn't that hard to scale now that he wasn't being chased, so it wasn't long before he was pulling himself up onto the top. The harp was just sitting there, wedged in between a couple of rocks as if it were some kind of makeshift altar, so the young man crawled over to the instrument and grabbed into its frame… just in time for the monster to roar as it leapt up at him. On his knees and holding onto the instrument, there was no way for Link to get out of the way, nor was he able to reach his sword as those big sharp teeth came closer…

"_Ether_!" A voice yelled.

Suddenly there was a flash of light as if thunder had struck, but it was cold, coming along with enough wind to blow the young man right off the boulder so that he tumbled down into the… _snow_? Yes, the warm brown sand had been replaced by freezing white snow, with the boulder and all the cactuses in this whole part of the desert now covered with a thick layer of frost, and as for the segmented monster… it was frozen solid. Blue colored now, with icicles hanging down from its body, the creature was locked into the same position it had been in while attacking him, but then it fell off the boulder, shattering into a hundred pieces upon hitting the ground.

"I'm having trouble understanding your thought process, Junior." Agahnim said, his hands still crackling a little from the spell he had just performed. "Are you telling me that you would rather get chased around the desert by _this thing_, instead of enjoying the honey festival with Marin?"

"I… I don't know." Link replied, slowly getting up to his knees. "I heard the music again, and it led me here, and… I don't know, Agahnim, I just keep feeling like this is something I'm _supposed_ to do."

The wizard just stared at him for a moment, before reminding him that he had also heard the call of the instruments when he had first arrived. According to Agahnim, this was nothing but part of the owl's plot to wake the Wind Fish, and thereby destroy the whole island. Link didn't like the owl very much, but the animal didn't seem like it was evil or anything like that, and then the young man suggested that maybe gathering the instruments and waking the Wind Fish wouldn't do anything more than allow everyone who was trapped there to leave the island. If that was true, then they could both return to Hyrule again, the wizard with his family, and Link with Marin.

"I see why you might think that, Junior, but I can't take the risk." Agahnim continued as the sunlight began melting all the conjured snow. "Gather the instruments if you wish, I won't stop you, but… if I can't talk any sense into you, then I'll stop protecting you as well. I just hope that by the time you are finished, that you come to your senses, or… or I'm afraid you and I will have a problem."

With that, the wizard vanished, leaving the young man sitting there among the melting snow, with the reclaimed harp in his possession. By Link's count, this was the fifth instrument, meaning that only three remained before he would have to make the choice that Agahnim spoke of.


	22. Chapter 22 A Nice Evening

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Two: A Nice Evening**

_Agahnim's words weighed heavily on me as I returned to Animal Village and tried my best to enjoy the remainder of the honey festival, and even though I was aware that he did not want the Wind Fish woken up, it was only then that I understood the truth. If I was to continue on my search for the three remaining instruments, how far would my friend go to stop me? It was true that I risked my possible relationship with Marin if he was right, but Agahnim had a wife and children… it was hard to imagine him already being trapped on Koholint Island for twelve years before I even arrived, but… I didn't want to fight my best friend._

By the time Link returned to Animal Village, the honey festival was in full swing, with several people… or maybe it was _all_ of the people from Mabe Village arriving to take part. There was more singing, plenty of food, and lots of opportunity for the young man to dance with Marin, although no one was paying any attention to the harp that he was suddenly carrying with him. Agahnim was busy with his family now, although the wizard kept looking over at Link every now and then, and Prince Richard was nowhere to be found.

Now that he had the harp and was out of the desert, there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, so the young man took his friend's advice and enjoyed the rest of the day. He ate and laughed with the rest of the people, danced with Marin, and before he knew it night had fallen, bringing with it the time to go back home. It was strange how Link was actually starting to think of Mabe Village as his home, even though this was not the case… no, his home was back in Hyrule, and the young man just hoped that if he really did wake the Wind Fish, that he would be able to take Marin back there to meet his parents.

Even though it was dark now, traveling back across the island was a lot easier when accompanies by a dozen people who carried lanterns, so he and the young woman held hands, enjoying the night and walking closely together. It was hard for him to know what would be considered to be too forward, since he had only known the young woman for a few days, so Link tested the waters once again by giving Marin a kiss on top of the head… and she didn't slap him or yell at him or anything, so that was a good sign.

Upon reaching the village, everyone began splitting up, heading back to their own cottages, leaving the young man alone with Marin and her father as they entered the home that he had been staying in. Tarin grumbled something that might have been a _goodnight_, before lying on his bed and snoring a few seconds later, with his daughter not far behind. All of the singing and dancing the young woman had done at the festival appeared to have worn her out, so she said goodnight as well, but not before surprising Link by giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

She smiled at him as she went to her bed and laid down, snoring almost as quickly, and as _loudly_ as her father was, but the young man didn't care… she was so perfect… and wonderful… that he might have spent an hour just standing there watching her sleep. It was tempting to go to bed himself, but after blowing out the last candle Link realized that he couldn't just leave the Instruments of the Sirens there, for one thing because their faint glow was strong enough to be seen coming from under Tarin's bed. The easiest way for Agahnim to stop him from waking the Wind Fish would be for him to steal the instruments, so the young man needed to hide them… but where?

He couldn't put them back in the places where they had been found, since that was too obvious and the creatures could come back at any time, so where? The only spot he could really think of was Zelda's old cottage down by the ocean, but it was stupid to think of hiding them in a place that the wizard had first shown him… or was it? Being a place that both of them were aware of, only an idiot would hide something so important there, so maybe the idea was just stupid enough to work. Either way, he couldn't just leave them there, so Link quietly gathered the remaining instruments from underneath Tarin's bed, and left the cottage.

The nice thing about carrying five instruments at once was that their collective glow was more than enough for the young man to see where he was going on his way out of town toward the beach, but at the same time he _was_ carrying five musical instruments, and it was hard to walk without dropping them or tripping over things. Eventually Link made it back to the old cottage, lighting a candle so that he would still be able to see after placing the instruments inside the wardrobe with Zelda old dresses, where their glow wouldn't be seen once he closed the door.

"So what are you going to do, kid?" The owl's voice asked, startling him. "I saw you get the Surf Harp from Yarna Desert, which tells me you want to wake the Wind Fish, but then again you're getting close to Marin, which tells me you're considering taking the same actions that Agahnim did."

"Look, it's not easy, all right?" Link snapped, turning around and walking over to where the animal was perched on the window frame. "I know I can't leave the island unless I wake the Wind Fish, but what happens if Agahnim's right, and everything just disappears?"

The answer to this question was obvious, if the wizard was wrong then the young man and Marin would be able to leave, but if he was right, then everything would just be gone forever. The owl didn't seem too concerned with that fact, even though this meant that it would vanish as well, and even going so far as to suggest that Link finish gathering the instruments before making his decision. It was at this moment that the young man realized that even if he managed to get all eight of them, he had no idea what he was supposed to do after that point… like… how exactly was he supposed to use them to wake the Wind Fish?

"It's simple; once you have them, take the instruments up the mountain to the egg." The owl explained. "Then all you have to do is get a certain young lady to sing like she did in Animal Village, and then… well… it just happens."

"It just happens?" The young man asked. "Wait a second… you don't know, do you? All this having me run around the island and get these things, and you have no idea if its even going to work?"

With an annoyed tone, the animal reminded him that no one knew for sure what would happen once the Wind Fish woke up, but all of this speculation was pointless if they didn't try. As always, it was solely up to Link whichever way he wanted to proceed, but if he intended to keep going, then the next instrument could be found in the graveyard. As if expecting him to just head there immediately, the owl told him to just start heading north, and that there was no way he could miss it.

"But be warned, kid." The animal said with a serious tone. "Up until now you have been following Agahnim's trail, battling his allies and the weakened creatures that survived his attacks. The hidden sanctuary in the graveyard is a small place, but no one who has faced its guardian has ever returned. Be on your guard."

The young man called out to the owl as it flew away, asking it for more information, since a guardian that no one had ever returned from facing was no small matter, but it was gone. The graveyard, huh? Straight north and you can't miss it… without rainclouds to block the full moon, the was illuminated enough for him to be able to find his way… no… no way, only an idiot would travel to a graveyard in the middle of the night. No, tonight Link was going to rest in the relative safety of this old cottage, and then in the morning he would make his way to the graveyard and face… whatever it was that was waiting for him there.

Hopefully such a creature wouldn't be too fond of sunlight, giving the young man an advantage for once, so he took off his boots and laid down on the bed like he had done the previous night. Quickly drifting off to sleep, Link was having a really nice dream about going back to Hyrule and introducing Marin to his family, and of course they loved her just as quickly as he did. Everything was perfect as he and the young woman fell deeply in love, eventually marrying and raising a family like Agahnim had done with Tracy, but then a loud _crash_ made the young man's eyes snap open as he sat up in the bed.

The wooden walls of the cottage were creaking and groaning from the gusts of wind now coming in through the window, bringing with it a spray of water from… from the pouring rain that was coming down in sheets while more thunder rumbled in the gray, cloud filled sky. _Another rain storm, are you kidding me_, Link thought? Maybe he should've gone to the graveyard last night, at least then he wouldn't have had to walk through another storm… damn it, at least during the first one he had the forest to give him some shelter from it.

Well, there was really no avoiding it, he supposed, since every second that the young man delayed, was another opportunity that Agahnim had to try and stop him if he chose to, so after putting his boots on and getting out of bed, Link opened the cottage door. Instantly the wind kicked up, spraying him in the face with so much water that his body was completely soaked by the time he managed to shut the door again, leaving the young man just standing there dripping all over the floor.

"Are… you… kidding… me?" He asked, wiping the water from his eyes. "Ugh… I bet my father's adventures weren't this annoying."

There was no getting out of heading to the graveyard this morning, since Link had already waited longer than he wanted by getting some sleep last night, so the young man pulled the door open, using his arms to protect himself from the stinging rain as he headed out into the storm, on his way to the graveyard.


	23. Chapter 23 The Graveyard

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Three: The Graveyard**

_I admit it, I was pretty upset about having to walk through the rainstorm, especially after just having to endure one two days before. Making my way north through the prairie, my clothes were soaked by so much water that I had to hold a hand above my eyes in order to see what was ahead, and I'm pretty sure that my mother would have smacked my face if she heard all the cursing I was doing. As the owl told me, the graveyard was not very far away from the old cottage… in a place where the grass was brown and the trees were dead._

It wasn't long before the tall grasses of the prairie began to grow shorter, losing their green color a little more with each step until there was nothing but dirt and wilted remains along both sides of the partially graveled pathway. A few more trees were present, though, spaced out few and far between, but without a single leaf between them. Their branches were dried and wilted, with grayed bark missing in patches across their rotting trunks, making the trees almost look like monsters themselves… that thought was stupid, though, so Link just kept going until he saw what looked like an old metal fence.

Made of black iron that was mostly covered in rust, this fence ran across the path in both directions before being obscured by the rain, and there was a heavy lock on the gate itself, with the words _KOHOLINT CEMETERY_ across the top. Clearly this was the place, the young man thought as he looked for a way in, although it occurred to him that if this place really was just a part of the Wind Fish's dream, then why would there be a need for a graveyard in the first place? Whatever the deal was, the gate was locked so tightly that there was no way he could force it open with the sword, so… there had to be a way in somewhere.

The bars were too close together for him to squeeze through, and maybe Link could have climbed up if the bars weren't so slippery, as well as too tall for him to simply jump and grab the top to pull himself over. Looking through the bars, all the young man could see were a few rows of old looking gravestones, so why did this place need such a border? The ground was also too rocky and firm for him to somehow squeeze or dig his way underneath the fence, so the only option seemed to be finding another gate, and… perhaps he would go left?

If the fence went all the way around the graveyard, then it didn't matter which direction he went in, because it would all lead back to the front gate anyway, and at this point it wasn't like getting out of the rain any faster was going to keep him from getting wet. So Link followed the fence, walking unobstructed as he passed by a few of the dead trees, and still finding nothing by the time he reached the first corner post. The young man hoped that he wasn't going to have to go searching for whoever the grave keeper was, or anything like that, since it would mean more time in the rain, but then something appeared up ahead.

At first he thought that it was some kind of decorative statue, like a gargoyle or something, but as the structure got close enough to be no longer obscured by the rain, Link realized that it was some kind of small doorway building that was built right into the fence, like maybe a second gate or something like that. Walking toward it faster, the structure consisted of stone walls with a matching roof that was carved to look like the kind on top of the town cottages, but with a wooden door… that was open just a little bit. Well, this was his lucky day, the young man thought as he pushed it open; someone had left the gate open, and now he could walk through into the… or maybe not.

Instead of just going right through the fence into the graveyard like some kind of border check point, the door opened up into a carved stone staircase than went down to what looked like a passage underneath the graveyard. Feeling uneasy enough about wandering through a graveyard itself, Link didn't know how eager he was to go down there, since there was only the vague hope that it would provide another way past the gate, or… was this where he was supposed to go, like in that hidden grotto in the back of the swamp? He wasn't sure, either way, but just in case, it was probably a good idea to make sure that there wasn't another way in.

Feeling a strong since of relief as he left the structure, the young man didn't mind the rain so much now as he hurried around the fence, hoping to find some other way in, but of course there was nothing to be found. Before he knew it, Link was passing the front gate again, still unable to open it no matter what he tried, and then… yeah, and then he found himself standing inside the structure looking at those stairs once again. Part of him just _knew_ that he was going to regret this, but since he had been unable to find another way, this had to be it… and now the young man's footsteps were echoing softly as he headed underground.

With the sound of the falling rain becoming muffled, and the scent of damp earth taking its place, Link drew his sword just in case there was anything down there like the spiked turtle/beetle things in the Tail Cave, but then he realized as he got to the bottom that he could still see. The light was dim, coming from a single wall mounted torch in the center of the corridor ahead, flickering just enough to see that where were no weird creatures waiting… and also some words that had been scratched into one of the wooden supports. They read simply: _THIEVES WON'T LEAVE_ with some kind of symbol carved next to them, and later down the corridor there was another warning.

This one said _LOOK DON'T TOUCH_ with that same symbol carved next to it, but the writer must have had really shaky hands, because it was hard enough to read the words, let alone figure out what the hell the symbol was supposed to be. The passage ended at another wooden door, this one opening up into a rounded chamber that was made of cobblestone, with another burning torch hanging on the wall, and… bones. It didn't surprise the young man that there were bones down there, since the chamber was underneath a graveyard, after all, but it was more of how the things were arranged.

Around the chamber, there was a set of metal restraints attached to each support pillar, set in low to the ground like what would be found in a lot of dungeons, where the prisoners were forced to sit with their wrists locked above their heads, but instead of prisoners there… most of the restraints had skeletons in them that were in varying states of decay. Some of them looked like they were only a couple years old, while others looked so ancient that the bones themselves were starting to crumble. Only one set of bones was free of the restraints, and even though all the bones for a complete skeleton appeared to be there, they had simply been piled up in the center of the chamber and left there just to rot.

"Uh… hello?" The young man asked, holding up his sword defensively while looking around the chamber. "I don't want any trouble, if you're here, and… I'm just going to move on… okay?"

No answer even after the full minute that Link waited, and so he did just what he said, walking to the far end of the chamber, where another corridor awaited just beyond one final warning that read _STEAL AND BE STOLEN_. This one also ended at a staircase, and when he reached the top, the young man found himself standing inside the graveyard. Aside from the doorway that he used to get in, the only features of the place were a couple dead trees, and a few rows of gravestones with writing that was too old and faded to make out the inscriptions. The only other feature in this place was at the very center, and consisted of a small stone pedestal, with… with a shiny instrument on top, a strange one that sort of looked like a small marimba.

That music, the Ballad of the Wind Fish, was heard again just barely over the wind and rain as he approached the pedestal, but stopped when he saw that there was another warning carved into the pedestal itself that said _LEAVE NOW OR NEVER_ with… what was that symbol anyway, it kind of… was it a word, or maybe a skull, or… oh who knows? Apparently no one had been in the graveyard for at least as long as the freshest bones were in the underground chamber, so Link picked up the marimba and started back toward the door.

No traps were sprung, nothing jumped out at him, and nothing got in the way as the young man entered the door, walked down the stairs, and headed back toward the center chamber, and at least now he got a break from the rain. Taking a few moments to warm himself out by the torch that hung in the corridor, Link continued to listen for threats, but couldn't hear anything, so once his hands were at least dry, the young man made his way to the first door, pushing it open and starting through, only to stop for a moment when he became aware that something in was different.

Granted the room didn't have many features, aside from its rounded shape, and the skeletons which were locked in the restraints, all of which appeared to be there, so then why did he have this feeling? Forget this place, he was getting out of there before something did happen, so Link ran for the wooden door into the next hallway, only to stop in his tracks when he saw another set of words that were carved into this side of the door where he wouldn't have noticed them on the way in. This one said _LAST CHANCE PUT IT BACK_, but looked just as old as all the others, so he pushed the door open, and came face to face with… a pair of empty black eye holes.

Grabbed by the front of the shirt before he could recover from the shock, a white arm swung upward, making the young man reel backwards when it struck him across the face, and it was only when he fell down in the center of the room that he realized what had been different: The bones that had been piled up in that very spot were _gone_, only to have been somehow reassembled on the other side of that door… where they were now slowly walking back into the chamber, toward him.

"_Never listen… they never listen_." The skeleton said in a hollow voice. "_How many warnings does it take? No matter… you've made your choice, thief… so welcome home… this is where you will die_."


	24. Chapter 24 The Sixth Grave Robber

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Four: The Sixth Grave Robber**

_Agahnim's father had once told me a frightening story about his own encounter with such a creature; how he had been pursued by several of the boney fiends while searching for a fragment of the Triforce of Wisdom in the depths of Lizard Mine. Like his son, Agahnim Senior possessed magic that easily allowed him to fight off the skeletons long enough to escape the mine, but unlike both of them, I had no such advantage. At least it was alone, so the upcoming fight was going to be fair… or so I thought._

Backing away from the approaching skeleton with his sword ready, Link watched as his enemy stepped into the chamber, its movements ridged and jerky, and bones rattling with each step like the whole thing were about to fall apart. Empty eye sockets remained focused on the young man as if it could see him just fine as he side stepped a little to avoid one of the pillars, but its boney hands held no weapons. The skeleton was completely unarmed, once Link saw it clearly in the torch light, so as long as he was quick with the blade, maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

"_I warned you, grave robber_." The hollow voice spoke as its jaw moved up and down. "_So many warnings… ignored by so many fools… all are here now… say hello to your peers, grave robber_."

As the skeleton spoke those words, it pointed toward the rotting corpses that were shackled around the chamber, with a knot forming in the young man's stomach when it referred to them as his _peers_. Had all of them once traveled there to get the marimba, only to… only to end up shackled like that? Had this monster done that to all of them? If so, then it was pretty obvious what was about to happen, so Link decided to strike first, swinging his sword and catching his enemy across the still pointing arm, severing it at the elbow.

The skeleton grunted a bit in reaction to its arm falling off, but made no other moves as the young man brought his sword back in the other direction, catching a couple of its ribs, both of which detached just as easily. Not backing off, his enemy finally was forced to react after the blade caught its hip, throwing the skeleton off balance, and the next hit was so powerful that it severed its backbone. This caused the whole top half of the monster to fall over, shattering into a hundred individual bones upon hitting the floor, and then Link kicked over the bottom half before making a run for the door.

But he had only taken a couple steps, when something grabbed his ankle, causing the young man to drop the marimba when he fell on his face. Reflexively looking back, Link gasped when he saw that it was the reformed arm of the skeleton that had him in a surprisingly tight grip while the rest of the bones… oh no, the rest of the bones were rolling across the floor, and reassembling themselves just as quickly as the arm had done. Swinging his blade and severing the arm that was holding him, the young man started to get up, but he had only gotten to his knees when the reformed skeleton grabbed him by the back of the shirt, pulling him back while forcing Link to stand.

"_Where do you run to, grave robber_?" It asked as its other arm reformed. "_Home is where you are… and home is where you shall stay… a guest of Master Stalfos like the others, and…_

No, the young man was _not _going to be a guest of this _Master Stalfos_, so he hooked his foot behind the skeleton's leg while rushing toward it, causing his enemy to smash into pieces again when tackled to the floor. Trying not to waste time, he got to his knees and started bringing the blade down hard on the bones before they could roll back together, or at least he tried to. Even faster than he was capable of attacking them, the bones reassembled themselves so that Master Stalfos was standing behind him, and then Link looked back just in time to see a bony fist coming at him.

_Whack_! The punch caught him right in the nose, making the young man taste blood as he fell backwards, scrambling away from the approaching skeleton and then pulling himself to his feet, Link swung the sword so that Stalfos's skull was sent flying across the chamber. However, this action left him wide open to attack, and since such an enemy was not affected by the loss of its head, the skeleton was able to grab his wrist with one hand, and knee him in the stomach, before punching him in the side of the head with the other.

Link started to brace himself for another fall, but instead his enemy kept a hold of his wrist, pulling the young man back in for another hit, and then another… and then another… and then another, before finally letting go while kicking him in the chest. At some point, Link wasn't sure when, Stalfos' head had rolled itself back into place, leaving the skeleton whole while the young man was starting to get tired. He had never faced an opponent that could just rebuild itself after taking hits that would have killed almost anything else, and on top of all that, the whole ordeal didn't even seem to wear out the skeleton, leaving it fresh and full of energy.

"_Do you see these restraints, grave robber_?" It asked, pointing to an empty set on a pillar. "_These shall be yours… I am going to put you in them like I did with the others… and then you will slowly die here… like the others_."

Gathering up the last of his strength, Link pulled himself up to his feet with the support of a pillar, and then he swung his sword one last time. His plan was to knock Stalfos over, and then grab the marimba from the floor, before running away like a frightened child. However, the skeleton had a different plan, beginning with catching the blade in its bony hand, and then bringing its foot up into the young man's groin _hard_. Losing his grip on the sword as the pain wracked his whole body, Link was unable to defend himself as his enemy tossed the weapon across the chamber, before giving him an uppercut to the chin that sent him reeling backwards.

Crashing into the same pillar that helped him get up last time, the young man instead slid down it so that he was sitting on the floor, and his vision hadn't even come back into focus yet, when Stalfos struck him again. The skeleton was standing right over Link, bringing its fist down onto the young man's forehead every time that he tried to move, hitting him again and again until he was barely conscious… and then his enemy grabbed both of his wrists in order to bring them up into the open restraints that were above his head.

"No!" Link exclaimed weakly, trying to struggle against it, but failing. "No! Don't do this! Let me go!"

"_You did this to yourself, grave robber_." Stalfos replied, forcing his wrists into the restraints and then slamming them shut. "_But fear not, you shall have your prize… in fact, it shall be the last thing you ever see_."

There was no actual lock on the restraints, like with a key or anything, it was just a lever that locked into place, but without someone else to open it, the young man was hopelessly stuck. Try as he might, the young man just couldn't even come close to reaching the latch with his hands, and because of how he was positioned, it was impossible to get it with his feet, either. Link still tried a couple times, kicking upward as high as he could, but not getting anywhere… all while Master Stalfos walked over to reclaim the fallen marimba.

"_All this fuss over a shiny thing_." The skeleton commented, looking at it as the creature walked to the center of the room. "_Do you see where greed has gotten you, grave robber? Imagine everything you wanted to accomplish with your life… what you could have done… who you could have loved… where you could have gone. All that is behind you now… you gave it up in order to be here… with them… and me_."

"Help!" Link screamed at the top of his lungs, after realizing that he really _was_ trapped. "Somebody help me! I'm down here, somebody help me, please! Help! I'm down here!"

His enemy made no effort to stop this, in fact the skeleton just remained where it was, as if enjoying the spectacle. Eventually the young man ran out of breath, forced to stop yelling in order to breathe heavily, and Stalfos took this opportunity to slowly walk around the chamber, stopping at the oldest looking corpse, and describing how the first grave robber had screamed for help in the same way. Then the skeleton walked over to the second one, explaining how this one had attempted to bribe it for his release, without success, and how in less than a day the third one was literally crying for his mother.

"_To tell you the truth, the fourth one was my favorite_." His enemy continued, patting the next corpse on the head. "_For a graverobber, he was fast… not strong, but faster than me… and he could have gotten away, if not deciding to return for the prize… fool. The fifth one was booooring; he fainted upon seeing me, and woke up right there… and the sixth… well… you know all about number six, don't you, grave robber_?"

"Look, you _have_ to let me go." Link replied, trying to pull himself free again. "I'm on an important quest to wake the Wind Fish, so I can free _all_ of us from this nightmare… even _you_."

Stalfos just looked at him with those dark, empty eye sockets for a moment, before walking back toward the center of the chamber. It muttered to itself that the sixth grave robber tried to lie and deceive his way out of it after proving incompetent with a sword, and then all of the bones started to collapse right where they had been originally. Once this process was done, Stalfos was gone, reduced to a pile of bones that just happened to have a shimmering marimba on top, and now Link was alone… alone just as all five of the other Grave Robbers had been after their confrontation with the skeleton.

No, the young man wasn't going to give up, so he tried to hit the latch with his hands and feet, only to fail again, and then he considered trying to grab one of Stalfos's bones in order to pick it up with his feet and hit the latch, but they were too far away, so that didn't work. Looking over at the corpses, Link saw that they had been left in different positions, such as hands bent while another had a leg twisted, as if they had been trying the same things that he was now. One of them even had their leg stretched out as if trying to grab one of the bones, without any success, but there had to be a way out… there just _had_ to… there had to be…

"Help!" He screamed again, struggling against the restraints as panic took over. "Help! I'm down here! Somebody! Anybody! Help me!"


	25. Chapter 25 An Unlikely Savior

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Five: An Unlikely Savior**

_If I were telling this story to my little niece, Lina, I would say that I faced this situation just as bravely as the others, and never lost hope, but that would also be a lie. Master Stalfos beat me, and I was stuck, with my only hope of rescue being the slim chance that someone passing by the graveyard would hear my cries for help. But as I looked around at all of the others who had attempted to recover the marimba, all of whom had probably spent days screaming their heads off for help… I found myself wondering if this was really the end for me._

One of the worst things about being underground for a significant length of time was that it was pretty damn hard to keep track of time, with Link quickly starting to feel like he had been down in that chamber forever. There was no lock on the door at the surface, he kept telling himself, eventually _someone_ had to pass by and hear him, but eventually the young man's throat became so sore from calling for help, that he was no longer able too. His attempts to reach the latch on the restraints with his hands or feet failed as well, and eventually Link became so tired that he had to close his eyes.

At least when the need for sleep overcame him, the young man's thoughts drifted to more pleasant things like his home and family back in Hyrule, and his date with Marin at Animal Village's honey festival, which had probably been the best day of his life. He wanted to see the young woman again, and take her to meet his family once the Wind Fish broke the curse or whatever it was that kept everyone on Koholint Island. When the dream ended, Link was still a prisoner underneath the graveyard, and now he was getting hungry during the latest attempts to call for help.

"All right, Stalfos, I've learned my lesson, all right?" He asked, ready to give just about anything for a drink of water. "I'll put the marimba back where I found it, I promise, just let me go… Stalfos? Stalfos?!"

There was no answer from the pile of bones at the center of the room, where the shimmering marimba was just sitting there like crown jewel of a treasure room, so out of desperation the young man started screaming while pulling at the restraints frantically. He even considered biting off his hands in order to free himself, but couldn't reach, so Link just sat there and… he didn't want to end up like the five corpses in this place, but what was he going to do? Pretty soon the need for sleep overcame him again, but this time he was woken up by a new sound reaching his ears.

Footsteps? Wait a second, was this real, or was he still dreaming? The young man could hear the echoes of someone approaching from down the corridor, but he was feeling so weakened from hunger and thirst that he could barely lift his head to see who it was. Stalfos was still collapsed in the center of the room, so it couldn't be the skeleton making that noise, and then the chamber door started to open. Of course, Link started by thanking every deity that he ever _heard of_ for sending help, and then he asked his new companion to release him from the restraints… only to be met with laughter.

"Well, don't you look just… _pathetic_." A familiar voice said. "If I'd known that you were ignorant enough to get yourself locked up like the common criminal you are, I wouldn't have bothered tracking you down. Although I _suppose_ it's still worth it in order to punish you for what happened in Kanalet Castle."

Struggling to lift his head up enough to see who this person was, the young man had to blink several times in order to focus his eyes enough to see that it was Prince Richard who was standing over him… and Link had just realized this, when the Prince suddenly kicked him in the mouth. Yelling about how much Link had humiliated him in front of his servants, Richard stomped and kicked him several times, calling the young man a thief, a coward, a criminal, and a few things that Link wasn't even sure what they meant.

"Why a great hero like _Agahnim_ is so concerned with you, I'll never understand." The Prince continued, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Do you know that actually _warned_ me about challenging you? He said that you were more than what you seemed, and that I should just leave you alone… and I will leave you alone… _here_… after I teach you a lesson."

"Richard, wasn't I locked in a cage last time?" The young man asked weakly, spitting out some blood. "Do you want me to steal your clothes again?"

There was literally no way for Link to accomplish this threat, but it still managed to enrage the Prince to the point where he punched the support beam, screaming about how it was a cheap shot, and that the young man and all his family and friends were going to pay for that insult. Ranting like a lunatic as he swore that Mabe Village would be burned to the ground, Richard constantly got his face closer to Link's, and was just starting to say something about Marin, when the young man made a desperate move.

Waiting until the Prince was very close, he brought up a leg in an attempt to kick him in the face, but because of the fatigue, his foot only got as high as Richard's groin. The hit was still effective, and threw the Prince off balance so that he stumbled backwards and fell down onto the scattered bones of Stalfos, but then Richard stopped moving when he noticed the shimmering marimba. Declaring that he now understood the reason for Link being down in this place, the Prince picked up the instrument after getting to his feet, swearing that he was going to hide it where no one would ever find it… but the young man was no longer paying attention to _him_.

Instead, his eyes were on the pile of bones that was quietly reassembling themselves into Master Stalfos, and then it placed a bony hand on Richard's shoulder… slugging him in the mouth as soon as he turned around to see what it was. Caught completely off guard, the Prince reeled back, dropping the marimba as he fell against the pillar Link was attached to, but then drawing his sword as the skeleton approached. Richard tried to move back to put some distance between them, but his belt had gotten caught in the latch on the restraints, forcing him to pull against it until breaking free… by opening the latch.

"_Another grave robber so soon_?" Stalfos asked, now focused on the Prince completely. "_So greedy… so devious to steal the plunder of another… you will truly be among friends here_."

As soon as the restraints were unlocked, Link fell over sideways onto the floor, trying to crawl away, but having to fight his fatigue, hunger, and lingering pain from having his arms like that for so long. This made the effort of escape a difficult one; the young man needing to grab both the marimba and his sword at least before leaving the chamber, but thankfully Richard was a lot more skilled with a blade than he had been. Like Link had done a short time ago, the Prince attacked Stalfos, easily cutting down the skeleton with a few well placed strikes… and being just as easily shocked when his enemy simply rolled back together from pieces.

Managing to crawl across the floor, the young man was up to his knees by the time he got hold of the marimba, since some of the feeling was coming back to his body, but now the battle wasn't going so well for Richard. With nothing but its bony fists, the skeleton was quickly disarming the Prince, first by knocking the blade from his hand, and then pulling something from his other wrist and tossing it across the chamber… something small and metal, which made a clanging sound when it landed right in front of Link.

Having been distracted by the effort to reclaim his sword on the way toward the door, that the young man almost didn't recognize the small object as being… his shield? He had originally lost it after being captured by the guards, and now what, the Prince had been wearing it on his arm? No matter, Link scooped it up underneath his arm with the small marimba, before crawling over to the fallen sword and using the weapon like a walking stick to help him get up to his feet.

"No!" Richard screamed from behind him. "No! Let go of me!"

With pain in his legs from each step he took toward freedom, the young man was just pulling the door open, when he looked back to see the Prince being forced down into a sitting position against an unoccupied support pillar. Stalfos was repeatedly punching him in the face until he could no longer fight back, and then the skeleton put Richard's arms up into the restraints and locked them into position… before turning its dark, empty eye sockets toward Link once again.

"_Grave robber_." It said, the grin on its skull almost seeming to get bigger. "_Come back… your friend will be lonely_."

His body flooded with a sudden burst of adrenaline as the skeleton started walking toward him, the young man ran for it, or… at least stumbled through the doorway at a faster pace, and needing to lean heavily on the wall of the following passageway to keep from falling over. Moving as quickly as he could, which was not very fast at all, each step that Link took toward freedom felt like it was getting more difficult, and now the rattling bones of Master Stalfos could be heard approaching from behind.

Struggling to keep from dropping what he was carrying, as well as keeping himself from falling on his face, the young man kept going until he reached the stairs. This was it, these stairs were all that stood between himself and freedom, but the soreness in his legs was so great that Link couldn't help crying out in pain as he took the first step. Without the motivation of the approaching skeleton behind him, the young man was pretty sure that he would have never made it up the stairs, but the threat of being chained up like that again was enough to keep him going, especially when he started to hear Richard screaming for help.

No, Link was not going to end up back there again, so he pressed forward, trying to ignore the cries for help, the rattle of Stalfos' bones, and his own pain as he kept climbing… and climbing… and climbing until the young man fell right through the door at the top. It still wasn't locked, allowing him to exit the structure and fall down in the dirt, but that first breath of fresh air after being trapped underground was the sweetest thing he ever tasted… even though it was still raining, and the moon was just barely visible through the clouds in the night sky.

But there was no time to rest; he could no longer hear Richard's cries for help, but Stalfos was still calling for him. So Link scrambled to his feet, collecting all his dropped items, and using the glow of the marimba to light the way as he ran off into the storm.


	26. Chapter 26 Safe at Last

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Safe at Last**

_Yes, I left Prince Richard behind in order to make my own escape, but the man tried to kill me, and threatened to hurt my friends, so he was on his own. I had no idea if Stalfos was still chasing me or not as I ran off into the storm, barely able to see what was right in front of me, and trying not to pass out from the ordeal I just survived. The marimba was the sixth Instrument of the Sirens that I had managed to gather, meaning that there were only two more left before I would be able to wake the Wind Fish… or at least until I had to make the final decision of whether or not to do so._

Link wasn't sure how long he had been running for, but eventually the fatigue caught up with him, reducing the full pace sprint down to a slow shuffle. The young man was completely soaked from the falling water, but that wasn't so bad because it also allowed him to cup his hands together for a few seconds in order to finally relieve his thirst, leaving only the tiredness that was tormenting his whole body. It was so tempting to simply fall on his face and sleep in the grass wherever he was, but if the skeleton was still after him… no, he had to keep moving.

Hopelessly lost, and with only the glow of the marimba to light the way, Link pressed forward, constantly on the lookout for something that was familiar, but all of the grass and trees looked the same. At least the trees were alive again, which meant that he was moving away from the graveyard, so… maybe somewhere on the prairie? Sure, why not? It could have been anywhere for all he knew, and the moon was completely invisible behind the thick clouds, meaning that the young man couldn't tell which direction he was going.

Now the wind was picking up, blowing sheets of water into his face that stung at the same time, forcing him to cover his face with his arms as he walked. This actually seemed to work for a while, but then Link stepped into a big puddle of water, causing him to fall forward with a loud _splash_. For a moment his whole body was underwater until he fought his way back to the surface, making the young man realize that this wasn't a puddle at all, it was more like a lake. A lake with _very_ warm water, and… the warmth was so soothing that it made him even more tired by the time he reached the shore.

Maybe _shore_ was the wrong word, since there was a short wall of stones all the way around it, which he must have stepped over without realizing it before falling in, so Link got about halfway over the stones… and then slumped there as the last of his strength left him. Laying there, the top half of his body hanging on the wall while his lower half was still in the hot water, the young man's eyes closed, but it was a restless sleep. Feeling like he kept waking up every few minutes, only to fall back asleep, Link's thoughts mostly consisted of how stupid he had been for ever wanting a life that was filled with adventure… because he had exactly that now, and it was awful.

Suddenly the idea of spending his life as a guard in Hyrule, and then one day inheriting the title of Lord Sheriff from his father, didn't seem so bad. Part of him wished that he and Agahnim had never left Hyrule in the first place, but then again he would have never learned this lesson in that case, and the young man also would have never met Marin. These thoughts were interrupted each time Link lost consciousness, and suddenly it was daytime. The rain had stopped, and instead of simply falling asleep again, the young man struggled to stay awake, as well as lift his head up long enough to see where he was.

There was a lot of steam rising up from the lake he was in, well… actually now that he could see the whole thing, Link realized that it was more like a small pond, or a hot spring. Yes, it was definitely a hot spring, and a short distance away was a familiar looking cottage, and the young man let out a sigh of relief when he realized that he had wandered back to Crazy Tracy's Health Spa. This meant that his wounds would be taken care of, so long as the woman gave him another sample of that awful tasting stuff that she sold there… yeah, all he had to do was stand up and…

_Whack_! Link was in the middle of using the wall to push himself up to his feet, when a fist came out of nowhere, striking him across the side of the head so that he slumped back down in the same position he had been in before. Making another attempt to get up, even though he was dazed from the hit, Link was knocked down again when the fist struck him in the forehead, before a hand… a familiar looking, and very _bony_ hand grabbed him by the back of the collar in order to pull him up.

"_Grave robber_." Stalfos said, dragging him the rest of the way out of the hot spring. "_I'm glad you stopped when you did… I almost lost you_."

The young man desperately tried to grab his sword, only to be stopped when the skeleton punched him in the ribs, before grabbing the weapon itself and tossing it away. Stalfos continued to strike Link, throwing the young man back up against the stone wall, and slugging him in the stomach before pulling the small shield from his arm, and then smacking Link across the face with it so that he collapsed onto the ground. He tried to crawl away while Stalfos discarded the shield, only to find himself moving backwards when the skeleton reached down and grabbed him by the ankle.

"_And all of this because of your greed_." His enemy continued, reaching down to grab the fallen marimba with its other hand. "_Come along now, grave robber… it is time to go…_

Suddenly the skeleton's words were interrupted when its arm exploded a flash of orange light, releasing Link's leg as the now burning bones were scattered around them. It only took a moment for the fire to go out, and then the bones rolled back together the way they always did, with both Stalfos and the young man looking back to see Agahnim standing a near the door of the nearby cottage with his family. The skeleton just looked at them for a moment before returning its attention to Link, since it clearly only cared about those who touched the marimba, but then more flame appeared in the wizard's hand, and this time one of Stalfos's legs exploded after the fireball was tossed.

"Tracy, why don't you take the children inside?" Agahnim asked as a strange white energy began to crackle around his hands. "I don't think they need to see this just yet."

His wife took their two children by the hands and led them away, but while the wizard was waiting for his family to enter the cottage, Stalfos had once again turned its attention to Link. Once again grabbing the wounded young man by the ankle, the skeleton began to drag him away, ignoring Agahnim's orders for it to stop. As far as Link could tell, it seemed like his enemy just rebuilt itself from the wizard's magic just as easily as it did from a sword attack, and if so then there was nothing that could be done to save him. But just then the wizard vanished, reappearing an instant later right in front of the skeleton.

"_Hechizo_!" Agahnim yelled, aiming his hands right at Stalfos' chest.

The white energy gathering around the wizard's hands suddenly erupted into a flash of white light that consumed the skeleton, and when the light faded Stalfos was simply _gone_… replaced by a gelatinous Bot creature that was squirming on the ground as if confused. Gathering more flame in his hand, Agahnim tossed it down, and just like that the newly formed Bot creature was gone. Was that it? Was Stalfos defeated? The little bit of ash that remained of the skeleton was quickly blown away in the morning breeze, and then Link was dimly aware of the wizard calling for his wife to come back out.

With the skeleton finally no longer a threat, the young man allowed himself to relax, passing out again, and then waking up somewhere different. Through the nearby window he was able to see that the sky was clearing up, and there was… there was an odd taste in his mouth that was both familiar and unpleasant… that medicine Tracy had made him try the other day, maybe? Yes, it had to be, because the young man was feeling a hundred times better now, although there was still some lingering soreness when he tried to sit up.

"Not so fast, Junior, take it easy." Agahnim said from the chair where he was sitting nearby. "That skeleton really worked you over, didn't it? I hope getting the marimba was worth it."

The instrument was sitting on the floor nearby, which surprised the young man since he figured that the wizard would have taken the opportunity to hide it. After all, if Link wasn't able to get a hold of all eight instruments, then there was no way for him to wake the Wind Fish and leave this cursed place. At this point, that was all he really wanted, to take Marin and go back to Hyrule, where things made sense… and the only place where anyone had even _heard_ of a creature like Stalfos was in the story of Lizard Mine.

"You're not going to stop, are you?" Agahnim asked, taking a look out the window as his children chased each other around the big tree. "Most people would be a bit humbled after facing something like that, but you're determined to wake the Wind Fish, no matter what, aren't you?"

"Agahnim, I want to go home." The young man replied, still a bit sore when trying to change the direction he was sitting. "If I do this, then we can _both_ get out of here, and take the people we care about with us. Don't you miss everyone back in Hyrule?"

The wizard was silent now for a time, probably thinking about everyone back home, and it had been a lot longer since Agahnim had seen them then it had been for Link. Yes, the fight against Stalfos had humbled him, and made the young man wish that he had paid more attention to his training instead of always having his mind preoccupied by the desire to get out of his father's shadow. After all, Link Senior hadn't had any formal training at all before the fight against Ganondorf, so had he been as beaten down and exhausted as his son was now?

"We never did get to have our adventure together, did we, Junior?" The wizard asked, looking back over at him. "I remember thinking that the two of us were going to become great heroes of some uncharted land, and… now after so long I have the chance to do just that with my best friend. I know that without killing you, I can never stop you from waking the Wind Fish… so I'm going to help you."


	27. Chapter 27 The Rider

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Seven: The Rider**

_At first I couldn't believe my ears when Agahnim told me that he had decided to help me wake the Wind Fish, and as excited as I was to finally be working together with my best friend again, there was a part of me that doubted him. But the thing was that Agahnim could have easily taken the instruments from me, or even killed me if he wanted to, so what would be the point of trying to trick me? Of course, since he hadn't gotten this far on his own quest twelve years before, neither one of us knew where to find the last two instruments, and the owl didn't exactly like him._

Once Link had completely recovered from his injuries, thanks to Crazy Tracy's Medicine, he and Agahnim had a lot to discuss, beginning with how they were going to handle getting the last two Instruments of the Sirens. The wizard believed that the two of them should split up, since it would make the whole process go a lot faster, but he didn't even bother asking where the young man had hidden the other ones, so either his friend had genuinely decided to help out, or there was something else going on that he couldn't see.

No, his conflicted mind replied, there was no point in Agahnim tricking him, but… but why did every fiber of his being feel like this whole situation was wrong? The wizard's whole argument against this quest was that it risked his wife and children, and he had gathered allies to help him stop it from happening, so… Link just didn't know what the answer was. But then his thoughts were interrupted by the soft flapping of wings, just before the owl swooped down and landed on the windowsill.

"Can this be possible?" The animal asked, raising an eyebrow. "Has Agahnim, the great hero of Koholint, finally realized that the Wind Fish needs to awaken?"

"Shut your beak before I burn it off, deceiver!" The wizard snapped, making the owl jump a bit. "Now tell us where the last two instruments are, before I change my mind."

Link watched as the two of them just glared at each other, and then the animal spoke the words _Turtle Rock_, before asking Agahnim if he knew where that was. The wizard knew from the map he had been studying in the Mabe Village library, but when he asked about the other instrument, the owl refused to speak, telling them that the location would only be revealed to the young man once he was alone. This suited Agahnim just fine, and without another word he vanished, leaving Link and the owl alone… and allowing the animal to let out a long sigh of relief.

"I don't trust him, kid." It said, turning to face him. "I don't sense any deception as far as him wanting to help wake the Wind Fish, but there's a feeling I'm getting from him… a kind of certainty that he hasn't shown since deciding to abandon the quest, so… watch yourself."

"I will… I guess." The young man replied, pretty confused himself. "But owl, before anything else happens, I need to ask you… when I went to the graveyard, I saw corpses chained up just like Stalfos did to me… who were they?"

Link supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised when the owl explained that they were the ones who came before he and Agahnim; castaways who tried to wake the Wind Fish, and just as the animal had warned him before, none of them had ever returned from the graveyard. That was why it had such faith in the wizard when he arrived, since his magic gave him an advantage over almost every creature on the island, but none of them had ever just refused to even try before.

"The remaining nightmares that hold the Wind Fish are even more dangerous than Stalfos." The animal continued. "Simply attacking them with your sword is not going to be enough, you're going to have to use your head and get creative, but don't worry… since Agahnim was so eager to help all of a sudden, I sent him after the worst ones."

The owl's plan was simple, if a bit devious; send the wizard blindly into Turtle Rock where the worst nightmares on the island were waiting, and if he somehow managed to get out with the instrument, it would leave Agahnim weak enough to be defeated if he really was planning something. Worst case, according to the animal, was that he would be killed in there, but not without taking many of the nightmares with him, giving Link as easier time once he got there.

However, before anything like that could happen, the young man needed to begin preparations for the ceremony that was needed once they had all eight instruments. This required all of them to be brought up to the giant egg on top of the mountain, and then someone was going to have to play them, but… how in the hell was Link not only supposed to get the instruments all the way up there, while also convincing people who knew how to play to go with him? Wasn't everyone on the island against waking the Wind Fish?

Finding someone who could sing the Ballad of the Wind Fish was easy, since Marin would probably jump at the chance, and… I don't know, maybe she could convince the people of the village to help out if they knew how to play. The owl found this amusing, reassuring the young man that they didn't actually have to know how to play the instruments, it just required people to be holding them and they would basically play themselves. The challenge was just getting them to agree to it, and again, Link was hoping that Marin could help with that.

"Off you go, then." The animal said. "The last instrument's location will be revealed in time, but first focus on getting people to the egg."

Just as quickly as Agahnim had done, the owl was gone, flapping its wings as it left the windowsill, and leaving Link alone in the cottage. At the point in his mindset where he no longer wanted to explore the island or meet anyone, the young man left the health spa, not even bothering to go over and say goodbye to Agahnim's family before heading back toward Mabe Village. Now that he wasn't forced to blindly stumble through a rainstorm, the path was actually pretty easy to find, and before too long Link found himself back at the edge of town.

Just like every day in Mabe Village, the people were going through their same routine, but this also made Marin easy to find. She was in the center of town, picking flowers over near a decorative statue, but as soon as the young man approached, she set down the basket and ran over to give him a hug. The young woman smelled so nice and it felt so good to hold her after what happened to him at the graveyard, that for a moment Link forgot why he was there in the first place. He just kissed her on the cheek and they held hands while staring at each other, just like his brother was probably doing right now with Agahnim's sister back in Hyrule.

Oh course that random thought of home caused him to refocus, and the young man just flat out asked her if she would be willing to sing the Ballad of the Wind Fish on the mountain later, to which she quickly agreed. Well, that was easy, he thought, now all they had to do was convince the villagers to help him bring the instruments from the old house by the bay, and… and why was there suddenly a shadow moving across the ground? Looking up reflexively, the young man was forced to shove Marin away form him while diving backwards himself, in order to avoid the hard landing of… a very large bird?

Standing twice as tall as a man, the bird turned its angry eyes down at Link, then at Marin, before tucking down its huge, feathery wings. The monster's beak was large enough where it looked like it could easily swallow him whole, but that was when the young man realized that there was a bit in the creature's mouth… a bit that was connected to a set of reins… which led up to a saddle on the bird's back where someone was sitting. As unbelievable as it seemed, this giant monster appeared to be someone's mount, and that person was now looking around as well.

"Excuse me, you there, good day to you sir." The rider said, tipping his metal helmet upon spotting Link. "I seek a young man, a newcomer to our fair Koholint Island, goes by the name of Link, I believe."

The nearby villagers were understandably startled by the sudden arrival of the rider and his giant bird, but unlike most other things the young man had encountered so far on the island, this one was being pretty polite. So after helping Marin to her feet and making sure that she wasn't hurt, Link stepped forward, and replied that he was the one that the rider was looking for. In response to finding this out, the rider nodded politely, before adjusting his helmet, and then spurring the giant bird so that it swatted the young man with its wing.

Caught completely by surprise, Link was thrown off his feet, crashing to the grassy ground a short distance away, where he rolled to a painful stop. Marin gasped when she saw this, immediately running toward him to see if he was all right, only to be stopped when the giant bird blocked her path. The young woman tried to back away, but one of the bird's talons reached out and grabbed her, wrapping around Marin's whole body and picking her up as if she weighed nothing. Link pulled himself up from the ground, and drew his sword, but the bird simply swatted him again, knocking him back down.

"I abhor violence, so I'll say this politely." The rider continued. "I'll not have you coming to _Eagle Tower_ for my organ, so to make sure you don't, I'll just have to keep this lovely girl for, um… forever, probably. What do you think, my darling? Do we make a cute couple?"

"Let go of me!" Marin yelled, trying to struggle her way free. "Link, help!"

But there was nothing he could do, since immediately after he was done talking, the rider gave a polite wave, and then his bird rose into the air, quickly flying away and taking Marin along with him.


	28. Chapter 28 The Tal Tal Mountains

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Eight: The Tal Tal Mountains**

_I remember being angry as the rider flew off with Marin, and even more so that this person had attacked me without cause while I was still recovering from Stalfos. Of course, there was a cause, being that I was killing all his friends in order to get the instruments, but that was no excuse for kidnapping an innocent girl. If Agahnim had been there, he probably could've just blasted that giant bird out of the sky, but I was forced to handle it the hard way. It was almost funny, actually… the young man who left home looking for adventure was about to go rescue a fair maiden from a tower._

Link had no idea where this Eagle Tower place was, and since the owl didn't appear and tell him this time, the young man's only option was to go back to the library and use the map. Naturally, the people of Mabe Village were upset by what had just happened, but he assured them that he would not rest until Marin was safe. Before heading to the library, though, Link have the marimba to Tarin, asking him and some of the others to do him a favor by going to the old cottage and bringing the instruments at least as far as the village, and then he had to get moving.

It was nice to have access to a completed map of Koholint Island, but when the young man entered the stone building, he couldn't help stopping for a second to think about how much things had changed since the last time he had been in there. Back then he had still been trying to figure out where he was, and then the Moblins attacked… no, there was no time for reminiscing while Marin was in danger, so the young man went over to the desk in the back of the dusty building, and started studying the terrain.

This was a little easier now that Link had been to a lot of the places around the island, and he was able to identify places like Animal Village and Kanalet Castle, but there were still a few places where he hadn't been. No, there hadn't been any visible towers anywhere along the beach, nor in the forest or the swamp… nothing in the desert, either. After everything that had been happening to the young man since his arrival, the only place on Koholint Island where he hadn't set foot yet was the mountain range toward the north where the egg was supposed to be.

Before Agahnim had gone off, the owl had told him to head for Turtle Rock in the mountains, and… hey, that was actually pretty easy to find, since there was some kind of turtle-shaped stone at in the higher parts of the mountains all the way to the west. It didn't make since for two of the Siren Instruments to be hidden close to each other, so Link scanned across the map, moving past where the Wind Fish's egg was at the center, and… and that had to be it, there all the way over to the east where a single structure marked the surface of the mountain, but whoever had drawn the map must've made a mistake because only the start of it could be seen before running out of room.

From just looking at the map, it seemed like getting to the mountains was going to be the easy part, because it looked like Crazy Tracy's was the closest point to them that he was familiar with, but from there it looked like maybe those lines on the map were trails? Link was so jealous of Agahnim's ability to just magically put himself anywhere on the island, because now after leaving the library and assuring Tarin that he would rescue his daughter, the young man headed off. He found it strange that no one in the village had ever seen the rider before, since you figure someone would notice a man flying around on a giant bird like that, but one thing Link had learned during his time there was that things on Koholint Island didn't always make sense.

Thanks to that awful tasting medicine, aside from getting swatted by the giant bird, the young man was fresh and full of energy as he walked across the prairie, getting as far as the health spa without incident. However, Link was starting to understand just how unprepared he was for the more dangerous parts of the island, so maybe another stop at the spa was a good idea. No, he didn't have any rupees or whatever the people of the island used for currency, but thankfully Tracy was willing to give him some more of the medicine, provided that he took some for her husband as well.

Once he had two full doses of the medicine, Link kept going north, where the terrain began to get rocky almost immediately. Most of the island had been flat so far, with the exclusion of the downward sloping desert, but now the whole place seemed to be making up for that all at once. When he was younger, his father had taken him on a long journey to see some of the places where his adventures took place, and the _Tal Tal Mountains_ as they were called on the map, were reminding the young man of _Death Mountain_ in Hyrule's southern outskirts.

It had been difficult to follow Link Senior up into those mountains until they got to _Spectacle Rock_, where Ganondorf had been defeated, and now Link was feeling that same way again as he started up into the foothills. He had been hoping that the lines drawn on the map were easily spotted trails, but no, it looked like the young man was going to have to do this the hard way, by going over each progressively larger hill before even getting to the mountains. During this long walk/climb, the young man started to wonder how Agahnim was doing, laughing to himself a bit while imaging how his friend probably just kicked down the door of Turtle Rock, and started throwing fireballs at everything.

Creating the imaginary setting for what was inside of Turtle Rock was actually kind of fun, and helped to keep Link's mind off how hard it was getting to climb up the mountains once reaching the top of the foothills. He imagined a horrible place filled with spike traps and red hot magma like the stuff surrounding _Death Valley_ in his father's second adventure. Yeah, don't want to make it too easy for Agahnim, so why not add in some flying monsters that spit globs of fire out of their mouths?

Laughing to himself a little as he imagined his friend vanishing and reappearing all over the place to try and fight them, the young man thought that it would only be fitting after all the trouble _he_ had with things like Stalfos, that the monster guarding the instrument should be, uh… _made_ of fire. Yeah, that's it, let's see how good your fire magic is against something that's made of the same stuff, oh yes you're in trouble now mister _great hero of Koholint_. But then Link remembered how the wizard had been able to freeze a large section of the desert into ice, and… oh well, so much for making Turtle Rock difficult for him.

Of course, this was just what the young man _imagined_ was happening over on the other side of the mountains, since obviously he couldn't be there to see what was really going on. For all he knew, Agahnim could have been having a far easier _or_ more difficult experience than the imagined one, so the young man shifted his thoughts on how he was going to deal with the rider once he got to the tower. Obviously, the giant bird was the biggest threat, since it just swatted him like an annoying fly back at Mabe Village, but there was also the fact that the rider had threatened to hurt Marin if Link came after him.

This meant that the young man was going to have to be really sneaky, which was difficult since it was the middle of the day. Why couldn't the rainstorms have happened right now? If it was pouring rain, it would have both masked his approach to the tower _and _made it more difficult for the giant bird to fly… you know, if this really was all part of the Wind Fish's dream, would it have killed the thing to do something to help him out once in a while? Honestly, sometimes it seemed like the Wind Fish wanted to stay asleep just as badly as the owl wanted to wake it up.

No more obvious trails now, leaving the young man having to climb up some pretty steep wall faces, and since he hadn't had the sense to bring any rope with him, this meant that without being able to find some footholds or something to grab onto, sometimes he would have to backtrack. This wasn't so bad if Link was just starting to climb up a new surface, but there were other times when he was almost at the top of the next ledge, only to have to go back down and find another way. Apparently the young man was paying for how easy it had been to reach the mountains themselves, because now the hours were passing and his progress was reduced to the speed of crawling.

"I bet Agahnim didn't have to work this hard getting to Turtle Rock." He grumbled to himself, straining to pull himself up over the next ledge. "My mother's a magician, home come I didn't get any magic? Because my stupid brother was born with it, that's why… _oh, you just take after your father more than he does_… yeah, thanks mom, that's a lot of help right now."

Struggling, and _really_ struggling to climb over the top of the next ledge, Link was starting to wonder if he was ever going to be able to even find the place the rider mentioned, but then the young man gasped when he looked up and saw a structure sticking up from only one more ledge higher than he was. Easily spotted against the rough natural landscape, the tower was a lot bigger around than it looked on the map, and taller too, stretching up into the very clouds and making him understand why whoever drew the map didn't bother trying to sketch the whole thing… there wouldn't have been enough room on the paper.

Still, this had to be it; Eagle Tower, home of the rider, and the location of both Marin and the instrument he was supposed to retrieve. However, unlike all the other places where Link had just walked in and handled whatever was waiting for him, the rider had threatened to hurt Marin if the young man entered the tower, so this was going to have to be handled differently. That meant that he was going to have to sneak in, but also that he would have to keep sneaking until he found the young woman, because if even one creature inside saw him… well, then they could raise the alarm and the rider would be forced to make good on his threat.


	29. Chapter 29 Eagle Tower

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Eagle Tower**

_I was surprised, after managing to reach the top of the next ledge, to find that the entrance to Eagle Tower was both unguarded and wide open so that anyone could enter. Of course, given the tower's location, and how difficult it was to even get there, I also couldn't imagine that most people were willing to even make the journey. I couldn't go in right away, however, no, I needed to catch my breath after such a long and grueling climb… as I was going to need my strength in order to free Marin from the rider's clutches._

Given the size and height of the tower, Link had been expecting to find a fully manned fortress, filled with traps and barricades made specially to prevent the advance of young heroes, but in reality the place was just… empty. It looked like this might have been an important site at one time, with banners and furniture, along with all kinds of decorations, but much like the sanctuary beneath the Tail Cave, it appeared to have been abandoned for a long time. The banners were ripped and faded, the furniture was nothing but dried pieces, and once again there were no footprints in the layer of dust on the floor except for his own.

There were many rooms on the first floor, some of which might have been sleeping quarters for soldiers, and one that was maybe a, uh… kitchen at one point? Whatever the original purpose of this place, there was no sign of Marin or the rider, but there _was_ a large spiral staircase located at the very center of the tower, covered with tatters that might have once been an expensive rug and going up… and up… and up. The young man dreaded the idea of more climbing after what it took just to get there, but he supposed that stairs were better than bare rockfaces, so he quietly started upwards.

Just because there were no guards or hostile creatures around, that didn't mean that the rider wouldn't be able to hear any noise that was made within the tower, especially if he was at the top… oh man, please don't let him be all the way at the top. Link kept hoping that he would find his two targets, or at least Marin, on one of the floors along the way, but no matter how many he stopped and searched, this whole place was like a giant tomb. Why was it that some places on Koholint Island were brand new and pristine, while others were left to rot as if nothing but a forgotten memory?

Zelda's house, the Tail Cave, this place… what was it about them that caused such decay? If this was all really just a dream of the Wind Fish, then shouldn't everything have been the same everywhere? Or was it the presence of the nightmares keeping it asleep that was causing certain places to fall apart? As much as the young man wanted to find the answers to all the mysteries he kept encountering on the island, he wanted to wake the Wind Fish and take Marin back to Hyrule just as badly, so the mysteries, well… if the island was still there afterwards, then maybe there would be time.

Up and up… and up the stairs kept going until the point where Link was no longer _choosing_ to stop and investigate the different floors, more like needing to stop and rest a while after every other level. Based on how the sun was moving into later afternoon, at least another hour must have passed between walking through the entrance and when the young man finally reached the top of the tower. Aside from the entrance to the stairwell, and a large flagpole on the southern edge, the roof of Eagle Tower was nothing but a smooth, flat surface. No, wait a second… there was something at the bottom of the flagpole… someone was _tied_ to it.

"Marin!" Link exclaimed, running toward her. "Marin, I'm coming!"

The young woman was standing there against the flagpole, tied to it in such a way that she would have probably fallen from the tower if she tried to free herself without assistance, and with a gag in her mouth. What was the point in gagging the poor girl? Who was she going to yell out for all the way up there? Moving as fast as he could, the young man was almost to her, when he was stopped by a powerful gust of wind as the giant bird he had seen in Mabe Village rose up from below.

"Made the climb all the way up here, did you?" The rider called, pulling back slightly on the reins to make the bird hover. "Good show, my lad, but you'll never get your hands on the Organ of Evening Calm, and the girl belongs to me… so have at you."

With a flick of the reins, the giant bird flapped its wings once, knocking Link back with the resulting gust of wind, and then making him stumble and fall to his hands and knees with the next one. Once he was down, the rider hit the reins again, this time making the bird glide down past Marin, where it landed gracefully on the roof of the tower. The young man got up as soon as it landed, drawing his sword and advancing toward the giant bird, only to have to back off in a hurry after it raised one of its legs and slashed at him with the talons.

"Let Marin go, you coward!" Link yelled, trying to get close but the talons getting in the way again. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary, good sir, the girl absolutely _does_." The rider replied, moving the reins so that the bird kept facing him as he circled. "Even _if_ you get all the instruments, they are worthless without a voice to lead them in song… so after I've dispatched you, Marin will stay here with me forever."

Spurring the great beast, the giant bird squawked as it went on the offensive, snapping at the young man with its beak and kicking at him with its talons while walking toward him. The young man raised his shield to defend himself, but the force of the bird's next kick knocked him off his feet, and then he had to roll out of the way in order to avoid getting stomped. The giant bird circled him as he rolled, now trying to bite at Link with its beak, putting little scratch marks in the roof's stone surface while the young man desperately swung his sword in an attempt to drive it back.

_Snap_! Suddenly the bird reared up, making a backwards circle as it moved away from him, not because the beast had been wounded, but because Link's desperate flailing with the blade had resulted in one of the rider's reins getting severed. With only one left to hold on, the rider tried to regain control, but the giant bird wasn't having it; rearing up so sharply that its master flipped over backwards as he rolled off the bird, crashing hard onto the tower's roof while the beast flapped its huge wings.

Up into the air, the giant bird let out a loud squawk as it spread its wings, and then the beast glided off into the air, quickly vanishing from sight, and leaving the rider to fend for himself. This person had not only attacked Link, but kidnapped and threatened to hurt Marin as well, so the young man leapt at him just as he was getting up to his hands and knees, pinning the rider back to the ground as the blade sunk into his back. Pulling the sword out, and then stabbing him again, the young man was only dimly aware that his enemy had a small musical instrument on a sling that went over his shoulder… the Organ of Evening Calm, he assumed.

"Why… why do you want… it all to end?" The rider groaned, coughing up some blood onto the stone. "You're… you're inside of… the dream… too."

Ignoring his enemy's words for the moment, Link slung the instrument over his back, and then ran over to Marin, using his sword to cut the ropes, and then pulling the young woman down from the edge while removing the gag from her mouth. Once free, she hugged him tightly, and the poor thing must've been really scared, because she was shaking. So the young man held her for a few minutes, and then she kissed him. This wasn't some quick peck like after the honey festival, this was a real, passionate, heart-melting kiss that made Link hold her just as tightly.

"We need to get out of here." He said once they separated. "Come on, we need to go before that bird decided to come back."

"Don't… wake the… Wind… Fish." The rider coughed weakly as his own blood pooled around him. "Please… don't… doom… us…

There might have been more to say, but after another cough, the rider fell silent. Marin looked away, and Link didn't want to see this anymore either, so they made their way over to the stairs, and started down. Holding hands so that they wouldn't lose their balance, it took just as long to get back to the bottom of the tower, if not longer than it had for him to get up there in the first place, but it was just as rewarding to leave the tower as it had been to reach it. Of course, now the young man had to find a way back down, and… and why was there a trail of packed down earth beginning at the entrance and circling around?

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Link grumbled when he realized what it was. "There's a _road_?"

The trail circled around behind the tower, and then curved back toward the center of the island, meaning that if the young man had taken a little more time and looked around, he probably could've had an easy stroll up into the Tal Tal Mountains. Oh well, it was better to find it now than discover it after they were back down at the bottom, so Marin took his hand again as they started walking. There were still a few hours of daylight left, maybe just enough time to get back to the village before it got dark, and then if Agahnim managed to get the last instrument, well… then it really _was_ decision time now… no more putting it off.

"Marin, I'm going to wake the Wind Fish." He said, finally making up his mind completely. "After I do that, we'll all be free to leave the island, and… if you wanted, I mean… I'd like you to come back to Hyrule with me."

"I'd love to." The young woman replied happily, without hesitation. "I've always wanted to see other places, and…

Instead of finishing her sentence, Marin kissed him on the cheek, and then they walked in silence for a while, following the road toward the center of the mountains… where the giant egg of the Wind Fish was already visible.


	30. Chapter 30 Ballad of The Wind Fish

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Thirty: Ballad of The Wind Fish**

_I remember wishing to myself that I had taken some more time to look for an easier way up the mountains, because the road I discovered behind Eagle Tower was better than some of the ones in Hyrule. Perfectly smooth, no sharp curves or inclines, just a long, gradual path that brought me and Marin closer and closer to the Wind Fish's egg. The walk still took a while, though, with the sun moving through the sky toward its inevitable setting, but I didn't mind… in fact, it felt like nothing in the world could bother me as long as I had Marin by my side._

Even though Link had seen the large purple and white egg from time to time at a great distance, he had never understood just how gigantic the thing actually was until it was up close, and this thing was _massive_. Definitely shaped like an egg, with huge purple spots decorating the pure white surface, the structure dwarfed even the largest castles that the young man had ever seen, both in height and circumference to the point where it was almost bigger than the part of the mountain it was sitting on.

The road went right up to it before splitting off at a three way junction that went toward the other side of the range, as well as straight down the slope toward Mabe Village. However, unlike the rest of the road that the two of them had traveled upon, the junction was not empty, in fact quite the opposite. A small gathering of people were just sitting around as if waiting for something, and it took Link a second to realize that it was Tarin and the others from the village, each with one of the Instruments of the Sirens in their hands… even Agahnim, who was carrying a drum that Link hadn't seen before.

"I was starting to think you got killed, Junior." The wizard said as they approached. "Tarin told me about the rider when I got back from Turtle Rock, but I knew you could handle it… plus, I didn't want to ruin your chance to impress your girlfriend."

Everyone was glad to see that the young woman was okay after her experience at Eagle Tower, and it was suggested that they come back another day to do the Ballad of the Wind Fish, but it was Marin who wanted to do it right away. She was tired of the mountains, and would probably never set foot on them again after what happened with the rider, so the young woman insisted on just getting all this over with so that they could all go home. With a couple hours left before sunset, no one really had an argument against it, so everyone started asking Link what they were supposed to do, and… he wasn't exactly sure.

"Um… I guess… everyone grab an instrument." The young man said, trying to sound like he knew. "Just kind of, uh… gather around like in a circle, I guess, and then Marin has to lead."

At least that was what the rider told him; the instruments were worthless without a voice to lead them, so after checking one more time to make sure that the young woman was really okay to do this, everyone gathered in a circle around her. Just like she had done back at the honey festival in Animal Village, Marin started to sing the Ballad of the Wind Fish, and then something strange happened. Link had chosen the Coral Triangle, since he had no musical ability whatsoever, but as the young woman started to sing, he began to play along as if he were a lifelong expert.

The same thing was happening with all the others; Tarin, Agahnim, and everyone from the village were playing their instruments like masters, creating a beautiful symphony that went along with the words. During this performance, it was like all other sounds on the island were being drowned out by the music, and as they played it seemed like the sun was setting a lot faster… like a lot faster as it sailed the rest of the way before his very eyes, leaving only a dim red light in the western sky by the time the song was finished.

Link wasn't sure what he expected to happen once the song was done, and for a moment it seemed like nothing at all, filling him with a brief dread that there would be no way to escape the island. But then the ground started to shake, and the wind picked up enough to blow Marin's hair around while everyone had to brace themselves to keep from falling over… was this it, the young man wondered? Was the egg about to hatch, allowing the Wind Fish to finally wake up and break the curse on Koholint Island?

Everyone gasped when a loud cracking sound came from the surface of the egg, with Marin holding onto Link as it got louder, but when the shell broke open it was… it was only a small piece of it at the very bottom that almost looked like a doorway falling open, or maybe the entrance to a tunnel. Was that it? Really? Again, the young man wasn't sure what he expected to happen once the music was finished, but this was kind of disappointing, to tell the truth. No one else seemed to care, however, with Tarin and the others slowly setting their instruments down and then absent mindedly starting to walk toward the road's downward slope.

"Link, it's getting late." Marin said, taking his hand. "Come on, let's go home."

This was strange, as if all the villagers had become sleepy, no longer caring about the Wind Fish's egg, and the young man had to admit that he was feeling the same temptation, although not as strong as it was for them. Agahnim seemed completely unaffected, setting down his drum and walking over to join them, and even suggesting that he could handle things there if Link wanted to go home with her. For a moment he was about to agree, but then he remembered the owl's warning about not trusting the wizard. Was his friend really somehow up to no good?

"Why don't you go back with the others?" Link suggested, giving her a hug. "I just need to check something, and then I'll be home before you know it."

The young woman nodded while yawning, and then after giving him a kiss, she joined her father and the others, who were lighting their lanterns for the walk back to Mabe Village. A few moments later they were gone, leaving only Link and Agahnim standing there as the last lights faded from the sky. Not even the moon was out tonight, and if not for the small flame igniting in the wizard's hand, the young man wouldn't have even been able to see the giant egg in front of him.

"So… are we supposed to… go in?" Link asked, pointing toward the opening. "Just like… walk into the egg?"

"It sure looks that way, doesn't it?" Agahnim replied, turning toward it. "Don't be scared, Junior, it's just a giant egg that could have literally _anything_ inside."

Both of them laughed at this joke, and even though there really could've been anything at all inside of the egg, the young man felt good to be working together with his best friend again. Yes, they had split up to handle Turtle Rock and Eagle Tower, but that was different… now they were cautiously walking up to the egg, and stepping in through the shell at the same time. It was thicker than Link imagined, with the opening being more like the entrance to a cave. For a while as they walked, it was like moving through a silent, white cavern, but then the tunnel ended, opening up into a chamber that was so wide that Agahnim's flames could only illuminate the floor.

The air was really warm and humid inside of the egg, to the point where the young man was sweating, and the floor no longer looked natural, more like a stone platform that had been carved into a perfectly smooth surface. Suddenly the floor shook, startling both of them as they braced themselves to keep their balance, and then the whole thing started to move upward. Slowly the floor began to glow with blue light, just a bit at first, but gradually making it unnecessary for the wizard to keep the flame in his hand. Even with the whole platform lit up, the walls and ceiling of the chamber couldn't be seen as they rose higher, but it was probably a long way down if they fell off the edge.

It felt like they had been rising upward for an hour, even though probably only a minute or two had passed, and then another blue light became visible from above. It was smaller than the platform, and at first Link thought maybe it was the top of the chamber, but instead the new light was coming from something in front of the platform. It was some kind of stone carving, a very large one that kind of resembled… the strangest looking fish that the young man had ever seen. It had a curved body, with a shark fin and what looked like wings coming off its back, along with a mouth full of teeth that appeared to be smiling. There was something else, too… something that Link hadn't noticed at first.

"Welcome, welcome my two young castaways." The owl said happily from where it was perched on top of the carving. "I am grateful for your dedication to freeing the Wind Fish, Link, and Agahnim… I am happy that you have finally seen reason."

"I certainly have." The wizard replied almost too quickly. "I just regret it took me so long to figure everything out… so where _is_ the Wind Fish, anyway?"

The platform and carving were steadily glowing brighter now, and in response to his question, the animal explained that the Wind Fish was right in front of them. The carving represented the great beast's physical form, which was bound in cursed slumber, while it was the owl itself that represented the Wind Fish's mind. Only the music of the eight instruments gathered by an outsider, led in song by the voice of a dream could break the barrier of nightmares, and allow them to become one.

As the animal spoke, the carving it was perched on started to move a little bit, with small cracks forming in the stone as if the great beast really was trapped inside. The owl continued the explanation, saying that once the stone was completely shed, then it would merge with the body and all three of them would awaken from the dream together. The carving was moving a lot more now, with pieces of stone simply falling off to reveal the brightly colored creature that was trapped inside, but then all of a sudden there was a new light… an intense, brightly colored green light that was gathering around Agahnim's hands.

"_Dormir_!" The wizard yelled, aiming his hands at the carving. "_Dormir para siempre_!"

The light erupted from Aghanim's hands like green bolts of lightning, striking its target, and making the owl scream as it and the carving were frozen in place. The green energy flowed up and down both it and the carving, replacing all of the blue light even on the platform as it stopped moving up… and after a moment of being motionless, it slowly started moving back down the way it came… back down toward the bottom of the egg.

"What is this?!" Link demanded as the owl's screams got weaker. "Agahnim, what have you done?!"

"I've saved the island, that's what." The wizard coldly replied as he released more energy. "Did you _really_ think I was going to sacrifice my wife and children for this… this _monster_? No, Junior… I'm putting it back to sleep… I'm putting it back to sleep _forever_ with the same curse your mother once used on the original Princess Zelda."


	31. Chapter 31 One Last Nightmare

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Thirty One: One Last Nightmare**

_I can still remember the feeling of shock as Agahnim announced his plan to trap the Wind Fish in eternal slumber… the owl had been correct, my best friend in the whole world had tricked me. Somehow he must have learned about the great beast's true nature and relationship with the owl… how, you ask? Hell, I don't know, maybe the nightmares told him, or maybe he just figured it out on his own… it didn't really matter much. What did matter at that moment was that he was about to use a very powerful spell… one that would trap both of us on Koholint Island forever if he was successful._

"Agahnim, stop!" Link ordered, drawing his sword. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"No, _you're_ the one who doesn't know." The wizard replied, releasing more green energy into the stone carving. "Get it through your head, Junior; this whole place is a _dream_, and if the Wind Fish wakes up, then it all goes away."

Up above them, the owl could be heard calling for help, even though it's voice became more fatigued and weaker each time Agahnim released more energy. Dream or not, the young man's mother had described the spell he was using in great detail, and how it brought nothing but pain and suffering down the centuries, until his father was able to break it. Link didn't want to fight his best friend, but the Wind Fish was a real being, and he wasn't about to let the wizard condemn it like what happened to Zelda.

Intending only to scare Agahnim into breaking his concentration, the young man advanced at him while swinging the blade sideways, but in reaction the wizard avoided it by spinning around… and then slamming the heel of his boot into Link's chest. The good news was that the spell had been halted, with the platform coming to a stop as the blue and green lights now began to kind of swirl around as if engaged in their own battle. The spell was still there, though, and even though that kick had dropped him to his hands and knees, the young man was determined to stop it.

"Agahnim, don't make me do this." Link said as he got back up. "We have to let the Wind Fish wake up so we can go home… damn it, I don't want to be trapped on this island forever, and I don't think you do, either."

"Koholint Island gave me everything I ever wanted." Agahnim replied, drawing his own sword from under his robe. "A wife, a family, a land where the people love me… I'll die before I give that up. But look at it this way, Junior… you've finally got the adventure you always wanted, and I… I guess I'm your arch-enemy."

The wizard gave him another chance to back down and just let the Wind Fish go back to sleep, but Link wouldn't budge either, and that was how the battle began. It quickly became obvious from the green light around his hands, that all of Agahnim's magic was dedicated to casting that spell, and this was great since it meant no fireballs or vanishing… but apparently his friend had picked up a few new skills over the past twelve years, because Agahnim was handling the blade like an expert. He deflected each of the young man's attacks, before shoving him backwards and making an attack of his own that would have cut Link's arm if not for the small shield… but that shield didn't do much to stop the kick to the stomach that followed.

Each time that the young man engaged him in battle the platform would stop, only to resume its downward course every time there was a break in the action, for instance when Link found himself falling down… which was a lot. In addition to his swordsmanship, the wizard kept attacking with other parts of his body each time the young man's blade was busy somewhere else. He kicked Link, punched him, head butted him, and even went so far as to loop their arms together so that Agahnim could hip-sling the young man down onto the platform… each time making it a little harder for him to get up.

"You're going to thank me eventually, Junior." The wizard said as the platform moved down again. "In a few years when you and Marin are married with children of your own, you're going to feel pretty foolish about what you're doing right now."

"No, Agahnim… you'll be a victim of your own curse, like my mother was." The young man groaned as he tried to get up. "Stop this now, before it's too late."

Coming at him again with his sword, Link stabbed at his friend before trying to ram him backwards with the small shield, but Agahnim dropped down and rolled forward, making the young man fall on his face yet again when his legs were knocked out from under him. But then something strange happened… suddenly the green light vanished from around the wizard's hands, fading from the platform as it started moving up again, at first making Link breathe out a sigh of relief. However, that relief quickly became terror when a ball of flame appeared in the wizard's hand.

Jumping back to avoid the flame when it was tossed at his feet, the young man had just realized that Agahnim had stopped the curse in order to be able to use his magic again, when his friend vanished from sight. Reappearing behind him an instant later, Link cried out when the tip of the wizard's sword slid across his back, and then Agahnim vanished again, this time bringing a cut across the young man's chest when he reappeared in front of him. This kept happening; the wizard would vanish and cut him, only to vanish again before Link could defend himself, and before he knew it the shield had been painfully cut from his arm.

"You were right, Junior." The wizard said while the young man clutched his deeply cut arm. "Stopping the curse for a moment makes things _much_ easier."

Agahnim stayed visible long enough to smack him across the face with the shield before casually tossing it over the edge of the platform, where it fell into the darkness. The vanishing attack resumed an instant later, with Link swinging the sword around in the hopes of hitting something, but only getting a cut across the back of the legs for his trouble. Dropping to his knees, another cut across the other arm caused the young man to drop his sword, which Agahnim was kind enough to pick up… before tossing it over the edge of the platform like the shield.

The wizard appeared right in front of Link again, but this time instead of attacking with the sword, his friend tossed a fireball right into the young man's face, sending him falling backwards as the flames disbursed. The force of the fireball was enough to send Link sliding a short distance across the platform, and he was about to reach up and touch his burned face, when Agahnim reappeared standing over him… with his sword raised. In a quick movement, the wizard brought the blade down, stabbing it right into the palm of Link's open hand so hard that the tip of the sword embedded itself into the platform below, and the young man was just starting to scream in pain, when his friend kicked him in the mouth.

"That's enough out of you." Agahnim said, turning away while the green light gathered around his hands. "Now… where were we?"

Just about all the way back up to where they had started, the platform stopped and began slowly going back down as soon as the wizard resumed the spell. Over at the carving, the owl looked like it had been almost fully recovered, only to scream again when it was surrounded by that green energy, and Link was stuck where he was. With the blade of Agahnim's sword pinning his hand to the platform, the only thing he would do was grab his friend by the leg and try to distract him from performing the curse.

All this did was annoy the wizard, causing him to kick the young man in the mouth without looking back, and then Agahnim just kept stomping him on the head and chest while the platform just kept going down. What would happen if it reached the bottom, he wondered? Was that going to somehow symbolize the curse's completion? Whatever the case, there wasn't a lot that Link could do about it, since the kicks just kept coming… until one of them very painfully kicked the sword out of place.

Both the young man and Agahnim froze at the same time, as if needing a moment to realize what just happened as the sword fell over, and they reacted at the same time, too. Reaching for the sword, the wizard might have been healthier, but Link was a lot closer to the weapon, so he grabbed it and blindly stabbed while getting up… causing his friend to groan as the blade was plunged into his mid-section. Agahnim punched the young man in the face before grabbing the blade and defensively stepping back… but they had already been at the edge of the platform.

"Agahnim!" Link called weakly, kneeling at the edge and looking down. "Agahnim!"

But there was no reply, and all the young man could see was darkness below the platform, which was rapidly turning a blue color again. Link expected for the wizard to appear next to him at any time, but it didn't happen, and once the last of the green energy was gone, the platform went all the way back up to where the owl was recovering on top of the heavily cracked carving of the flying fish. More bright colors were showing through now, and pretty soon he hoped that it would all be over.

"Thank you, Link." The owl said. "I know I gave you a hard time before, but… without your brave efforts, the Wind Fish would have never been able to awaken."

"Tell me the truth… please." Link coughed, wishing he hadn't lost the vials of Tracy's medicine on Eagle Tower. "Can I leave the island? Can I… can I take Marin with me back to Hyrule?"

Instead of speaking, the owl just shook its head as more of the carving fell apart, meaning… meaning what? The animal was starting to become transparent now, as if fading away, maybe into the Wind Fish itself? But it was able to tell him, in a strained voice, that yes Link would be able to leave the island, but the island… Marin… everything was nothing but a dream. A dream of the imprisoned Wind Fish, and now just like all dreams… it was time for it to come to an end.

"What?! No!" The young man yelled, struggling to stand as a new sound came from below. "Marin can't be a dream! She can't! Please, let me take her with me! Please, I'll do anything you want!"

"Too late… the dream is ending." The owl said as it vanished completely. "Come Link… let us… wake up… together."

With that, the owl was gone, and then the last piece of stone fell from the carving just as a powerful geyser of water shot up from below. The young man fought against it, trying to get back down just to see Marin one last time, just for a moment, but even if he had been at full strength, there would have been no way for him to resist the current that shot him up… and up… and up toward an intensely bright light that was now overtaking him.


	32. Chapter 32 My Awakening

**Link's Awakening**

**Chapter Thirty Two: My Awakening**

_And that was how my adventure on Koholint Island came to an end; one instant I was being flung upward by a stream of water, and the next thing I knew, I was gasping as my eyes snapped open. I remember the taste of salt in my mouth as I looked around, rubbing my eyes only to discover that there was nothing in sight but open water. Well, except for the broken piece of wood that I was slumped over… as far as I could tell, it was from my boat. Yes, I had awoken from the dream, and I felt awful… partly from dehydration, and also because I had to admit that Agahnim was right._

_The beautiful island was just gone… gone with all of the people, monsters… Marin… everything like it had never existed at all. But if I had woken up, then where was my friend? I searched around, calling his name, but there was no sign, making me worry that he had drowned or something… at least until I got an explanation. You see, I was not alone out there on the water at all… up in the sky there was a form that I first mistook for a fast moving cloud, but no cloud could have been so brightly colored._

_It was the Wind Fish, looking like a gigantic version of the carved relief as it floated up in the air as easily as a bird, and then it stopped to thank me in person for saving it from both its own nightmares, as well as the wizard's curse. I asked what had become of him, since there was no sign around me, and the Wind Fish assured me that my friend definitely did wake up… but as punishment for his wicked ways, he had been banished to a dark and isolated land where hopefully his cruel powers would never harm anyone else._

_Well, if this beast had the power to do that, then I figured that surely it could bring back Marin, like… recreate her or something, but the Wind Fish swore that it could not. After all, she and all the other wonderful people and creatures on Koholint Island were nothing but a dream… a dream that had lasted a lot longer than it should have, and hurt so many people. With that the great fish wished me farewell, whistling that same familiar music as it floated off into the horizon, and as beautiful as the whole scene was, I will admit that I was angry._

_I screamed into the endless ocean, hurt and heartbroken over the loss of both Agahnim and Marin, and from that moment on part of me has always wished that I had listened to him. If I had told the owl where he could get off, and abandoned the quest like my friend did, would I still be there with Marin today? Would we have married and raised children like Agahnim had done with Tracy? Would I really have been able to stand by and watch as other castaways washed ashore, only to be ripped apart by the island's nightmares while trying to find the instruments?_

_I don't know. What I do know is that it took me a long time to get back to Hyrule, and if not for the seasonal rains I probably would have died of thirst, and… its funny to think about now, but I was in pretty sorry shape when I finally got back to the port. They tell me that I was rambling and hallucinating, calling Marin's name while I was on the very edge of death, but I recovered… and then one of the hardest things I ever had to do was tell Agahnim's family that their son wasn't coming home._

_His parents were heartbroken, and his sister was devastated; I remember her sobbing uncontrollably while my brother held her. Those two ended up getting married not long after, you know… but as for me… no, I never did get over Marin. On occasion my father would ask me if I wanted to talk about what happened after the two of us set out on that boat, but I would decline, telling him only that I had my fill of adventure, and that I was ready to step up to my responsibilities._

_You know, it turned out that barely any time had passed at all since we left, but the years that followed were hard for me. Not the stuff involving my training to become the next Lord Sheriff, that was easy after my battles on Koholint Island, but my mind was what was holding me back. I thought about getting another boat and trying to return to the island, but without the Wind Fish, there was no way, and this led me to a series of suicidal thoughts that I am not proud of… I just wanted to see Marin again… just to hold her hand one more time and hear her beautiful voice._

_I had dreams now and then about the Animal Village honey festival, and I was so happy there that my screams of despair when I awoke the next morning would sometimes draw the attention of the guards. My mother used to tell me that time always helped, and it got a little bit easier over the next decade or so, and then before I knew it my father announced his retirement, leaving me as the new Lord Sheriff of Hyrule. So I buried myself in my work, looking up occasionally to see the world around me, especially how my little niece, Lina was growing up… can't believe she's about to turn nineteen._

_In my family, that age seemed to be cursed, because that was how old my father was when he faced Ganondorf, and how old I was when I faced Agahnim. Damn it, at least my father knew that his enemy was evil, but mine… my best friend… to this day I still don't know which one of us was really the bad guy when we fought on the platform inside of the Wind Fish's egg. Even more frustrating, though, was that I had no idea what happened to him. What had the flying fish meant by sending him to a dark and isolated land? Where the hell was that? I sought the help of every magician and historian in the land, but even my own mother, one of the best, was unable to help me find answers._

_There were times that I thought about telling everyone about my adventure, but honestly I didn't want to be considered a hero… not for that. I didn't want historical plays about how I doomed an entire island, or a holiday to celebrate my broken heart. Maybe in my will I'll leave instructions for Lina to get this book published, someday when I'm dead and gone, and I don't have to hear about it, but at least… but at least then the people of Koholint Island will live on in the imagination of children… at least Marin will exist there._

_So that's it, that's all I've got to write down. It seems unfair to just write THE END, since that would be me giving up in a way, wouldn't it? I always hoped that I would find a way to see her again, but judging by the amount of gray in my hair, my best chance for that is if we meet in the afterlife. So I'm just going to stop writing._


End file.
